I have
recently been listening to a song called “Paradise” by Coldplay. It’s about a
girl like any other who had big dreams when she was young. “She expected the
world but it flew away from her reach.” It’s like she expected the world to
come to her…except when she grows up reality strikes her. “Life goes on, it gets
so heavy, and the wheels break the butterfly, every tear a waterfall.” I really
love the metaphors used in this stanza and “every tear a water fall” shows how
big even the tiny problems and challenges she has to face seem. To escape her
reality, this girl dreams of paradise. It seems like she really loved this perfect,
imaginary world she created in her mind that she kept going back to it…it seems
like she got addicted to it. When you become addicted to something, you tend to
block out reality so I’m thinking that she started to block out her friends and
family because she wanted to be in paradise more than anywhere else. “I know
the sun must set to rise.” She is stuck in this world waiting for sunset to
rise—I see this as a metaphor saying that she is waiting for the pain to end and
to get over her addiction in her world before she can truly be happy in the
real world. She wants to be able to cry but since she’s held it in for such a
long time it’s like all she wants is to be in paradise like she was when she
was younger.
I think the
message here is that it’s okay to take a break from your life and escape
reality for a while—just remember that there’s a difference between escaping reality and blocking the truth.
I feel like
everyone can relate to this song because weather we realize it or not, we all
have places we go to escape reality. For the girl in the song it’s paradise…an imaginary
place she has created in her mind. For me, it’s through writing poetry. I
express my feelings using metaphors similar to the ones in this song. When I’m
at my country house in France in the summer I escape reality a different way—I walk
alone in the forests and then stop at this one special spot I go to on the
mountain when I’m feeling sad, alone, and worthless. Looking across the country
as far as the eye can see is something that gives me hope. It’s a special place
where I can clear my mind completely and let my tears pour down like a
waterfall.
Where do you
go when you need an escape from reality?
Awesome post! I completely agree with you on your statement that everyone has a place they go to to escape reality. Reality can be crushing and hard, so we often visit imaginary places to fill ourselves with joy before we go back to hardship. When I want to escape reality, I often come up with larger-than-life stories in my mind– stories where I achieve my goals. That helps me recover my mental strength, in a way.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, great writing!
wow this is like one of my favorite songs. i love the metaphors, like you said. but this song also just is a comfort song to me. it makes me feel okay about my problems and makes me feel not alone anymore. when i feel down or overlooked, i just get really upset, and my escape is defiantly music. music is my best friend and i know no matter what happens, music will always be there. i guess when you put headphones on, everything drowns out and you can be taken to a different world. everyone defiantly needs an escape.
ReplyDeleteamazinggggg post!!!!!!!
So true, I can't imagine anyone not having that place where you're brain goes when they need to get away. Like Mary said, music often helps people escape. And even if you don't know where you're brain goes to escape reality, there is still probably a place that is just in your subconscious. Adding on to what Mary said, sometimes music can really help me feel better and just more in control, but some music that's like sad and has a sad message does the opposite to me, makes me feel kind of depressed and small, not that I don't like sad music, but I guess it's just that music has a really large affect on one's emotions.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you related to the song. I agree that everyone has to get away from reality sometimes and take a trip to their "paradise." I also believe that reality for some people can be harsh and difficult to face. But once you try to find some happiness in reality, you'll realize that despite all these problems, you still have that piece of happiness to get you through the day. Nice post.
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