For last Christmas, my mom had given me the Self-Care Planner by the blogger Self-Love Rainbow. This was something I had wanted for a long time. I needed to get caring for myself and my mental health in check for once. In one of those weeks there was a goal of finding your song of the year. The song I chose was Human by the Human League. It showed me that I was working on the path to progress over perfection. I needed to be kind to myself. It also required caring and giving grace to myself.

It was a song that helped me. I created a list of songs from the 1980’s and made it into my own Helpful 80’s playlist. It often made me feel good about myself. This playlist got me through some of my toughest moments this year. These were moments when anxiety intensified. It made me perceive things as difficult and challenging. Even when they were not, I still saw them that way. Songs like Human helped me through those challenging moments. Other songs in that playlist also set the tone. They guided me when it was difficult to experience what had to be faced.

Songs, including ‘Human’ and others, made it easier to push through difficult moments. They helped when I wanted to do things differently than what I should have done. As hard and yet as simple as things can be, they just don’t make sense to some people. Even when things are just what we expect, our brain lets us ponder their difficulty. For some reason, it often dwells on the challenge. This happens when it comes to doing things that just seem usual to them. Music is a valuable tool. It helps me manage difficulties. It also guides me through expected and necessary actions.

Things like this are unnecessary, but they are needed to exist. Our world isn’t always easy to understand for everyone. But, for me, obeying necessary expectations is crucial. It helps make things make sense to me. It also makes life pleasant for those around me. This approach helps avoid fuss and disruption. Navigating the environments I must navigate brings challenges. These challenges can be difficult, unexpected, and challenging. They exist simply to get the job done.

Having my piece of freedom means understanding that I am human. I know I am not perfect and I make mistakes. Things don’t have to be perfect or exactly as they should be. This allows me to focus on progress over perfection. In a world where clarity is not always clearly defined, things can be challenging for me. Even when they seem clear and simple to others, I am finding my own way. It’s acceptable to be human and to discover who I need to be along the way. It is just how things are. Songs like Human and others on that Helpful 80′ s playlist help make life manageable for me.