The Soundtrack of My Life

By Ria Denise

August 23, 2012

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Have you ever wanted to know what the soundtrack of your life would be? If moments in your life had a theme song that played or fit that exact moment what would it be?

Since yesterday was a lazy and equally stressful one for me, this morning I found myself sitting in my living room, writing poetry, listening to music and waiting for my one of my princesses (my oldest niece) to awake ... I was wondering just that.

Here is what I came up with after a brief evaluation:

My Opening Credits
Stevie Wonder -- "My Cherie Amour"

This song was meant to play at my exact moment of birth. After all, it is my namesake. To this day, I will stop what I am doing and dance to it like he wrote it just for me, but unfortunately it was released 11 years before I was even thought about. Hey, can't blame a woman for dreaming.

Childhood to Adulthood
Queen Latifah -- "I Know Where I've Been"

If you have ever seen the revised version of Hairspray, you have heard this powerful song. When I first heard it, I instantly related to it. As a child, adolescent and adult, I struggled with manic depression, suicide attempts and ideation, grief, eating disorders and self injury to cope, and often struggled with people particularly accepting these issues as real afflictions. I always told myself that I could learn to cope and accomplish happiness and goals in my own way. People never know what the next person has been through and I have been through plenty. This song represents this emotion well. When I look back on my past years on Mother Earth, I am proud of where I am today.

Falling In Love
Selena -- "I Could Fall in Love"

Oh, how I loved Selena. Besides Gloria Estefan, she was one of the first Latin women I can remember in my teens who transitioned into English speaking songs. Unfortunately this happened before she died, but this was the song out of a few that will always be in my mental database forever. The name says it all. R.I.P., Beautiful.

Haters on Deck (Fight Song)
Jill Scott -- "Hate on Me"

WHAT! I love my Neo-Soul ... poetry turned into music is just beautiful and sista girl hit this one out of the park. According to the Urban Dictionary (gotta love it), a hater is a person that simply cannot be happy for another person's success. So rather than be happy they make a point of exposing a flaw in that person to bring them down. Hating, the result of being a hater, is not exactly jealousy. The hater doesn't really want to be the person he or she hates, rather the hater wants to knock someone else down a notch. This is my song dedicated to them all; young or old ... DOUBLE DEUCES ... I am going to still do me.

Breaking Up
Keyshia Cole -- "I Remember"

Okay, so you know when you just get fed up with someone that you are no longer in love with or just can't stand to be around them anymore for your sake? I find that this song is reminiscent of when you start missing things that they "used" to do and the person you call your man/woman is beginning to treat you like that "friend with benefits" other than the couple you thought you were. This is when you play this song over and over. Mend that heart and remember that this too shall past.

Getting Back Together
Journey -- "Open Arms"

I think we have all had circumstances where you might have parted with people in your life and they come back and that hardcore exterior you thought you had comes down. The beauty in this song is that it admits all those feelings you didn't know you had at the time of the initial departure. Nuff said.

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