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by Lois
My mom likes to randomly break into song a lot. She often gets unconsciously stuck singing the same part of a particular song over and over, which granted her the nickname Sirena from my grandmother.
"Be True To Yourself" by Lois is one of the songs she sings a ton. She especially likes to blast it in the car and sing it at the top of her lungs. I always get emotional because it has an awesome message and, paired with my mom's excitement and nostalgia she sings it with, I can't help but connect to her.
I've recently been going through some particularly turmoiling life changes. I often find myself not prioritizing my life, my identity, what I want and need... I'm starting to pay attention to my true me and, in consequence, I've been keeping this song close to my heart.
I had some issues finding it on Spotify and, upon further research, it seems it's not a well known song (or band)! All my life I thought it was a popular song, so I'm sharing it here so more people can listen to it and to see if anyone else knew it already.
So yeah! Gift yourself 4 minutes and 25 seconds of feel-good music with heartfelt piano. Share it with someone special, or just dedicate it to yourself, my love.
Apr 17, 2024
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From one of my favourite bands. When I first heard this title song of their respective album, I was floored, but stoked. “Huh? *huh.*” It was completely different from their reg music, not even the opening song of the album, and *wham* here’s this beautiful poem for ya.
I listen to it a lot when I’m really stressed and spiralling, to try to ground myself I guess?
When I’m flailing around in the day, I add my own lines in my head of mundane things to feel more, I don’t know, connected? Makes me feel ridiculous sometimes, sometimes I make myself laugh though. But hey, you’ve gotta get over yourself at some point, right? Especially if whatever it is helps you feel less insane y’know. Still learning to give myself that grace in other parts of my life, ploddin’ along
May 31, 2025
This what they mean by music for the soul. This instrumental literally feels like the title
Apr 26, 2025
to me this is the perfect song, just full of joy and depth and synths and gorgeous lyrics. it gives me the same shot of energy as too-long eye contact does!
Sep 5, 2024
Top Recs from @flat_white
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Make the person you're talking to get really riled up on their topic. Even just repeating the last couple of words they say as a question helps them dive deeper.
May 6, 2024
I don't actually want anyone to get their phone stolen, but I did. And it changed my life.
Mere minutes after living through a spiritually fulfilling experience (seeing Hozier live), my brand new phone and two of my friends' wallets got stolen at the bootleg merch booths outside the concert venue. One moment we were looking at tote bags and hoodies. Next thing we knew, we were smushed by a swarm of people, unable to move. My friends and I decided to retreat and, once we were out into a clearing, we were the same people... minus a phone and two wallets.
The experience of being non-violently robbed is existentially weird. One would think they'd realize they're being targeted. I mean, how can you not feel something out of the ordinary is happening on your person? I wasn't dumb. I was using a fanny pack under three layers of clothing, but these people are artists. The moment we got out of the ocean of people and realized what happened, we were in total shock.
I swear I went through all stages of grief in less than an hour, but at the end of the day... it was just a phone. Was it a recently big personal investment? Yes. Did it have all of the videos and pics of a life-changing concert? Also yes. Was I now in the middle of a "random" city without access to my digital wallet, GPS and other phone-related life essentials? Mhmm, yes. But it was still just a phone nonetheless.
The next day, I bought a Nokia 110 in a nearby convenience store, restored my sim and just kept on living. I was on the trip with my closest friends so I knew I would be fine being contactless for another four days. But now, I had to adapt to survive with nothing other than my manually-inputed contacts (for calls and SMS), my brand new 0.3 megapixel camera, and Snake.
This is something we all know, but you never really think about the type of bond you have to this material plane until it's challenged.
A month prior to the incident, I thought about getting a non-smartphone to limit my access to tech whenever I felt like my brain was getting too absorbed into my Pixel. I was feeling less present in my life and wanted to make a conscious decision to dumb-down my online activity, without actually getting rid of my cool camera and all-in-all amazing phone. Ironically, I had already researched slightly smarter Nokia phones and was even planning out a way to introduce a less tech-y lifestyle into my everyday. I guess the universe took my intentions too literally and decided I needed to go all in on the tech-less experience.
There are many reasons why I'm grateful for this experience, and one of the most important ones is the way I bonded with my friends over this brick phone. My Nokia takes some cool 0.3mp pictures, and the aesthetic became the entire vibe of the trip. We took cool pictures, laughed at the distorted audio the videos captured, and made fun of the cute noises it did when I texted someone. Most of all, I was forcibly present in every moment, and it actually felt freeing. I looked at my Nokia with love, and it looked back at me with no judgement at all.
Being a phone-less foreigner is not something I recommend. I had trustworthy company and was slightly familiar with the city I was traveling in, but it was still a challenge. Security-wise, no bueno. But I also haven't bought a new phone. I downgraded back to my old Pixel, which has issues with speed and battery (reasons why I decided to upgrade after five years in the first place), but I'm not sure if I'm ready to make that big of a purchase again quite yet.
There's a ton of morals to this story. Be safe and conscious when you travel; Look both ways before approaching a bootleg merch booth; Reflect on the way you engage with technology on your day-to-day; Memories are best lived being present; Nokia 110 phones sound funny, take cool pictures and might actually change your life.
Whatever it is you take from my experience, I hope it makes you feel grateful for something in your life.
Apr 17, 2024
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Now it's easier to go into knowledge rabbit-holes on my phone B)
Jun 6, 2024