This song takes me back to my university years, to when I held so much deep inside my heart, resisting all those who would dare try to pierce my mental armour, dare attack the tender heart beneath.  So much of my life at that time was a balancing act of what was expected – nay, demanded – of me and all that I wanted for myself.  Torn between these options, a part of me quit.  It recoiled, drew back into the silence, and waited for the storms to pass.

Simple in its beauty and melody, this song haunts me on darker day, rainy days, days where the weight of the condemnation of the world seems to rest upon my shoulders.  We are always children, somewhere in our hearts.  Children who long to break free.

“Oh, the quiet child awaits the day she can break free
The mold that clings like desperation
Mother can’t you see I’ve got to live my life
The way I feel is right for me
Might not be right for you, but it’s right for me, oh
I believe this is heaven to no one else but me
And I’ll defend it long as I can be
Left here to linger in silence
If I choose to, would you try to understand it?“

Day 348:  Elsewhere – Sarah McLachlan