Astonishing

Growing older means taking on responsibilities and becoming your own person. Astonishing is a song about being who you have to be. This song represents a woman who is longing to be astonishing in her life, to go beyond the expected. Astonishing is a passionate song about going further with life, to be someone who will be remembered and cherished when someone is gone. To be astonishing is anything between having a happy life, becoming famous, reaching a personal goal or even just graduating from high school or college. I believe that this song can relate to anyone who is going through life not knowing who or what this person will become in the future. To me this song relates to my careerin becoming a singer and how I am going to be astonishing.

The beginning of the song starts very slow as if the character is unsure of what she is thinking. The music has slow moving chords that have an unsure feeling of un-resolving chords. “I thought home was all I’d ever want, My family all I’d ever need, Now nothing feels the was it was before and I don’t know how to proceed”. The first line of this song presents the situation of the song. This woman sees that there is more to life than what she has, and knows that she must move on. “I thought home was all I’d ever want”, shows that this woman believed that home was she would want out of life. Living with her family is important to her, and thought that she would always be there. But the next line says that “now nothing feels the way it was before and I don’t know how to proceed”. This lie says that she doesn’t want to stay at home. She wants to venture out and do something that people will remember her by. This line relates to me in my daily life because I know that I want to move on from my ordinary family life.

The next line that the woman sings is “I only know I’m meant for something more, I’ve got to know if I can be astonishing”. In this line the character believes that she is meant to be more than just a housewife or a ordinary day job in the future. She wants to go out and explore the world and to make something of her. This line can also be represented in my life because I am a singer and know that I have to be extraordinary to exceed in my career. I want to be noticed by people and known for my talent.

The next part of the song is a little faster and helps the character to make a point. She feels more confident of her decision and says “There’s a life that I am meant to lead, a life like nothing I have known”. Here she knows that there is something for her that will make her happy. The woman is still unsure of what lies ahead, but whatever it is, she knows that it is worth looking for. “I can feel it, but it’s far from here, I’ve got to find it on my own”. This line shows that she is feeling for something, but she must keep pushing for what she wants. For me this part of the song explains how I feel in the music industry. I want to be an Opera singer, but I must be exceptional to reach my goal.

As the song builds, the woman’s emotion grows stronger for reaching her goal of achievement. “Even now I feel its heat upon my skin, A life of passion that pulls me from within.” This part of the song proves that she can already feel the passion of her goal in front of her. She knows that she can reach it because she needs something to make her life astonishing. “A life that I am aching to begin, there must be somewhere I can be astonishing”. Here the character is more passionate about becoming something astonishing. At the beginning of the song she states that “I’ve got to know if I can be astonishing”, here she says “there must be somewhere I can be astonishing. This line expresses my emotions about becoming a singer. I know I am going to be great, but where in the world am I going to be?

The song is getting more involved with the character’s emotions. The tempo is faster and the dynamics show that this part of the song should be louder. She is more confident as before and sings, “I’ll find my way, I’ll find it far away, I’ll find it in the unexpected and unknown, I’ll find my life in my own way today”. She is so confident that she will make her life remembered by being extraordinary. She is going to find her way on her own and prove that she is worth more than a family, ordinary girl. This part of the song really hits me hard emotionally. I know that I am a singer at a college full of other singers, but I want to push and be known throughout the college and city. I am going to find my way to be astonishing.

The last part of the song is all about being this astonishing. She begins her journey with “Here I go, and there’s no turning back, my great adventure has begun”. This line expresses what she is doing. She is going to begin her journey as the astonishing person she should be. “I may be small, but I’ve got giant plans to shine as brightly as the sun”. The woman is so confident, that no matter where she is from or who she was known as, she will shine. I am confident that my career as a performer will explode after my college training, and I know that the journey will be long and trying, but I will shine somewhere on some stage.

Right before the end of the song the piece, the woman in the song shouts,“I will blaze until I find my time and place, I will be fearless”, the character shows that she is no longer afraid of being rejected and will be fearless in the world. “Surrendering modesty and grace”, She will push anyone over who denies her and will not surrender to anyone who tells her different. “I will not disappear without a trace”, “I’ll shout and start a riot, be anything but quiet”. This whole stanza explains itself. She will shout and start a riot to be astonishing. She will do anything to prove that she is someone and will not be forgotten.

The last line has a statement that proves this woman’s courage to be astonishing. ”Christopher Columbus, I’ll be Astonishing”. This line represents that she is going to remember throughout history. Christopher discovered America, and was a fearless explorer. He went to lengths of the world that were unknown to his time. Christopher Columbus is the man who pulls this whole song together. He was fearless, journeyed the world, and made a name in history for himself. “At Last”, are the last words. She has found her state of happiness. Although whatever the journey, or how long, she reached her goal because she was determined and ready for the challenges. The character has found her way of life and is going to be astonishing.

I believe that this song can relate to any person living today. Every person in the world has a deep down feeling for something that is needed from life. For me it is to sing opera on a stage in Italy somewhere and for someone else it may even be to stand on a stage with a famous comedian. Every person growing up wants to be someone famous or somehow known in history or even the fifteen minutes of fame. Astonishing has inspired me to keep pushing for a singing career although it is very competitive. I listen to this song and sing it whenever I have doubts of my career path. This song can inspire people in anyway, because everyone wants the chance to be astonishing.