Normally, I leave the media stuff to Shorty. She is planning a few new media posts out at the moment, but things have been pretty hectic and busy for both of us.

But today’s post crosses the line from Media to Mental Health, which is distinctly my court. Shorty will probably make a few smart alec comments later, but for now the floor is mine!

So, I’ve been listening to a lot of music rece…. The last few… Oh, okay, my whole life. I love a good song! Heck, I love a bad song if it’s catchy enough. But what I love most are songs that really hit home how I feel, how I want to feel, or how my thoughts and feelings have changed.

To this end, I’ve started thinking about Soundtracking My Year. Yes, I’m titling something that: A YouTube Music Playlist that I’m going to be sharing here.

So, what do I mean by soundtracking my year? Well, my likes Playlist alone on YT Music (JUST YT Music) is at least 300 songs that, yes, I do often get all the way through skipping minimal songs. And those songs are different from my Spotify likes, and probably are different still between my original YT Music account and the one that followed my from Google Play Music when that shut down.

Amongst those many, many songs, there are definitely some that define how I feel about myself, my life, and the world in general. So I decided to start this little soundtrack for 2021, and add to it as the year progresses. We’ll see if I actually remember to or not, but I’ve already got a couple songs ready for it!

When I add a song, I’m going to try to do a post and explain why it’s been added to the playlist. I don’t have a goal for how many songs will be in this playlist, just whatever feels right.

So, to start us off, let me explain an honorable mention: “I May Fall” by Jeff Williams, featuring Casey Lee Williams, from the Rooster Teeth anime RWBY.

These first few songs will have the theme of… Well, they’re all from RWBY, and therefore Jeff Williams and Casey Lee Williams. I really don’t care, they work for exactly what I want.

Now, the reason “I May Fall” doesn’t quite make the cut is… Well, it’s more about how I felt about my depression for the last part of 2020. So, just shy of the 2021 starting point. But it does really communicate how I felt about my depression around then: I may fall to something at some point, but damn it, I won’t let it be here, and I won’t let it be depression.

For the tail end of 2020, I was really mentalling through my depression and reinforcing my love for myself. There was a brief period where I was unable to get my medication, but I managed a-okay for that time frame. (I do NOT condone dropping your depression meds without consulting your doctor! I had extenuating circumstances that had me off mine, it was not just a desire to stop taking them or anything. Stopping them without talking to your doctor can cause major side effects and complications. Always talk to your doctor before you stop taking a medication.)

On to the first true entry on our playlist: “Armed and Ready” by Jeff Williams, featuring Casey Lee Williams, from the Rooster Teeth anime RWBY.

“Armed and Ready” is a pretty good depiction of how I feel about my transition from depression ruling my life to how I feel now: Ready to face life and whatever comes at me. I feel stronger and more confident every day. Granted, it’s not a perfect fit for me, because I feel like this song just works better on a level of overcoming trama or tragedy… But it’s my playlist and I make the rules! So that’s song one.

Our second song is actually currently just a nominee, but I wanted to explain my thoughts on why I’m considering it. And if I decide my thoughts sound like a dying chicken, then this one probably won’t make the cut for right now. The song: “I Burn” by Jeff Williams, featuring Casey Lee Williams, from the Rooster Teeth anime RWBY.

The reason I’m considering this is because, well… It’s how I feel about myself right now and anything or anyone that wants to cross me: Awww, look at you! You think you can take me down right now! Bless your heart! (If you didn’t know I was a Southern Gal, now you do.)

That’s really exactly what I get from this song. A girl on top of her world, and nothing can take her from that spot. Now, if you watch the trailer for the character this song goes with, you’ll find that a lot of the lines are… Far more literal than my interpretation. Doesn’t matter, art is like that and music is art.

Basically, yeah, these songs both just show that I really feel mentally strong and unstoppable right now. I feel like I can get things done this year, and, while I’m not one for New Years resolutions, I think I will.

I’ll explain what has me feeling so unstoppable, other than good family, an amazing boyfriend, and a best friend I could never replace, in another post. For now, this is the important part for this post.

What would you start your 2021 soundtrack with? What do you think of my choices? Let me know in the comments of this post, and feel free to check out my public 2021 soundtrack playlist here.