Rediscovering My Fight Song




“Like a small boat/On the ocean/Sending big waves/Into motion.” The melodic voice of Rachel Platten on the radio jolted me back into the moment. It was a sunny Sunday afternoon at the beginning of September, and Alex was driving us to one of my favorite parks. “It’s my Fight Song!” I blurted, my face lighting up and a few small squeals escaping from my lips. “I hadn’t realized this song meant so much to you!” Alex responded with a chuckle, amused by my sudden outburst of excitement. Despite my periodic emotional volatility, Alex loved how I wore my heart on my sleeve and felt things so intensely. “Oh, if only you knew what this song got me through. It’s practically the soundtrack of my life!” I exclaimed, as I started belting out the lyrics unapologetically. “Like how a single word/Can make a heart open/I might only have one match/But I can make an explosion.” As it often did on car rides, my mind went on a journey of its own, a ride along memory lane… Rachel Platten’s Fight Song helped me get through many dark days during my hospital stays, and hearing it in such a wildly different setting was a potent reminder of how far I’d come. But it also reminded me of the incredibly dark place I’d come from.