For the longest time when someone asked me the question, "Who is your favorite band?" I never really had an answer. So I always just answered with, "I don't really have one." But that was before Twenty One Pilots came into my life. Like Josh and Tyler, I'm from the good state of Ohio. And I was never proud of that until I discovered Twenty One Pilots about 4-5 years ago.
My high school was having their Battle of the Bands and for some strange reason, I actually decided to attend that year. But I believe it was fate. That was the first time I had ever heard of Twenty One Pilots. They came on stage and they were so energetic, jumping and running around the stage, and doing backflips off the piano (which the English teacher who was in charge of BotB HATED, haha). I instantly fell in love with their music and the energy that they gave off. Their sound was like nothing I had ever heard before. At the time, I found their lyrics strange, but I figured they had a hidden meaning.
After their set, I immediately went over to the table they had set up for their merch and met Tyler and the other two members of the band, Nick and Chris. (At this time, Josh had not yet joined Twenty One Pilots. Sadly, I've never met him. But he's the best and my most favorite drummer ever.) I had an instant connection with Tyler. And I realized that he and I weren't so different. But we'll get to that later...
After talking to Tyler for awhile, I decided that I wanted to buy their CD. They were charging $10.. After admission to BotB.. I only had $5 left.. Tyler saw how much I had fallen in love with his music and he GAVE me the CD. That sealed the deal for me. Every single time since that night, when someone asks me what my favorite band is, I can never get the words "Twenty One Pilots" out of my mouth fast enough. But, there are so many other reasons why this is true.
My high school was having their Battle of the Bands and for some strange reason, I actually decided to attend that year. But I believe it was fate. That was the first time I had ever heard of Twenty One Pilots. They came on stage and they were so energetic, jumping and running around the stage, and doing backflips off the piano (which the English teacher who was in charge of BotB HATED, haha). I instantly fell in love with their music and the energy that they gave off. Their sound was like nothing I had ever heard before. At the time, I found their lyrics strange, but I figured they had a hidden meaning.
After their set, I immediately went over to the table they had set up for their merch and met Tyler and the other two members of the band, Nick and Chris. (At this time, Josh had not yet joined Twenty One Pilots. Sadly, I've never met him. But he's the best and my most favorite drummer ever.) I had an instant connection with Tyler. And I realized that he and I weren't so different. But we'll get to that later...
After talking to Tyler for awhile, I decided that I wanted to buy their CD. They were charging $10.. After admission to BotB.. I only had $5 left.. Tyler saw how much I had fallen in love with his music and he GAVE me the CD. That sealed the deal for me. Every single time since that night, when someone asks me what my favorite band is, I can never get the words "Twenty One Pilots" out of my mouth fast enough. But, there are so many other reasons why this is true.
Around the time that I discovered TOP, my anxiety and depression started to get progressively worse. I felt lost and I didn't really know what to do with myself. And honestly, most of the time, I found myself just sitting around, pondering why I was still here. I couldn't understand why I felt the way I did and everything just felt so hopeless. But after BotB, I started listening to their CD constantly. I typed out all the lyrics to the songs, because I couldn't find them online anywhere. I sat there and stared at all the lyrics for hours, thinking. Right there in front of me were all of my thoughts and feelings and the words I could never find to say for myself. In those words, I felt another person trying to fight his demons, just like me. And I understood then that I wasn't alone.
I could go on and on and on about this. But I would just like to share one last thing for now. A couple months ago, I got the Twenty One Pilots symbol tattooed behind my ear. But, a lot of people have been asking the same questions and saying the same things about my tattoo. "What if they aren't your favorite band anymore?" "Wow, you're just a crazy fangirl." "Why do they mean so much to you?" "What was the point in that?" It's really hard to explain it with words, but this is what I've been telling people - The symbol isn't JUST a symbol for the band. Yeah, I mean, that's one of the reasons I did get the tattoo, because I love Twenty One Pilots. I love Tyler and Josh and I love their music to death. But that's not just it. I remember watching an interview somewhere in the depths of Youtube and the interviewer asked Tyler, "So, what does the symbol mean?" And to sum up Tyler's answer... "It means Twenty One Pilots. And it means that because humans are alway struggling all the time when it comes to purpose, trying to figure out what their purpose is, what purpose even is, what’s the point and justifying your own existence. A lot of kids and people my age struggle with “what’s the point,” and with the logo, what it really means is it’s an encouragement. When someone asks me what the logo means to me, the logo means something to me because I made it mean something to me. That’s the point. The point is that I created something that only I understand and whether or not I decide to disclose the meaning of it, that’s the beginning of purpose for me."
But for me, it's my hope, my motivation. It's my shoulder to lean on when I'm feeling down. It's
there to remind me to keep my head up and to keep going even if things get too hard for me to handle sometimes. It's my dream. Because I want to do something to change the world someday. I want to make a difference, some way, some how. And I always want to remember that. I never want to lose sight of who I am and of who and what I inspire to be. And I just want to thank Tyler and Josh for giving me something to believe in. Because, for so long, I had nothing to believe in, and I definitely didn't believe in myself. But, now I do. I realize now that I have everything to live for. Even though I may be broken, waging my wars behind my face and above my throat, I'm not alone. We're all broken people and we'll all live on. |-/
I could go on and on and on about this. But I would just like to share one last thing for now. A couple months ago, I got the Twenty One Pilots symbol tattooed behind my ear. But, a lot of people have been asking the same questions and saying the same things about my tattoo. "What if they aren't your favorite band anymore?" "Wow, you're just a crazy fangirl." "Why do they mean so much to you?" "What was the point in that?" It's really hard to explain it with words, but this is what I've been telling people - The symbol isn't JUST a symbol for the band. Yeah, I mean, that's one of the reasons I did get the tattoo, because I love Twenty One Pilots. I love Tyler and Josh and I love their music to death. But that's not just it. I remember watching an interview somewhere in the depths of Youtube and the interviewer asked Tyler, "So, what does the symbol mean?" And to sum up Tyler's answer... "It means Twenty One Pilots. And it means that because humans are alway struggling all the time when it comes to purpose, trying to figure out what their purpose is, what purpose even is, what’s the point and justifying your own existence. A lot of kids and people my age struggle with “what’s the point,” and with the logo, what it really means is it’s an encouragement. When someone asks me what the logo means to me, the logo means something to me because I made it mean something to me. That’s the point. The point is that I created something that only I understand and whether or not I decide to disclose the meaning of it, that’s the beginning of purpose for me."
But for me, it's my hope, my motivation. It's my shoulder to lean on when I'm feeling down. It's
there to remind me to keep my head up and to keep going even if things get too hard for me to handle sometimes. It's my dream. Because I want to do something to change the world someday. I want to make a difference, some way, some how. And I always want to remember that. I never want to lose sight of who I am and of who and what I inspire to be. And I just want to thank Tyler and Josh for giving me something to believe in. Because, for so long, I had nothing to believe in, and I definitely didn't believe in myself. But, now I do. I realize now that I have everything to live for. Even though I may be broken, waging my wars behind my face and above my throat, I'm not alone. We're all broken people and we'll all live on. |-/
I already shared a lot of my personal struggles but I thought I should take time to really thank Tyler and Josh.I was going through a really rough patch and needed some inspiration to stay alive, that's when my best friend showed me Twenty One Pilots. She saw them at the IHeart radio music fest and she said they changed her life. I checked them out and the first song I heard was Car Radio. I was lost for words almost confused that after all these bands and singers that I vowed described my life and saved it, I finally found one that completely understood exactly how it felt to suffer and be contemplating suicide every night and hiding it all away from your friends and family. Many bands don't like to sing too much about the darker side of life and to me, to sing about the real struggles of life takes a lot of courage. They have put into words how I have been too afraid to say to others. My family life hasn't always been the best and when my mom isn't home I always have TOP blasting to drown out the silence. I feel like I relate to Tyler so much in the sense that behind closed doors we are a lot alike. We feel the same about life and it helps so much to hear his music and know that I'm not alone. Josh is the best friend I always wished I could have. Together, they are the most incredible duo. Even at my lowest points, my TOP friends are always a message away and to be a part of a clique that understands all the things I'm going through and is willing to always offer support is the best thing I could have received at this point in my life. Although many of the lyrics are meaningful to me in their own ways I love the lines from Kitchen Sink "No one else is dealing with your demons meaning maybe defeating them could be the beginning of your meaning, friend" I've always lacked purpose in my life and just starting high school with these words in mind encourage me like nothing else ever has. So Tyler and Josh, thank you. Thank you for the memories and the friends I have gained, thank you for the incredible music and lyrics that have mended my broken heart, thank you for the songs that give me hope and courage to stay alive, thank you for being yourselves every day, thank you for saving me and my friends, thank you for caring when no one else did. I love you guys more than I could put into words I hope one day I can tell you this to your faces.
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