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What Mayday Parade Really Says About Love

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Oxford Emory chapter.

I don’t know if you have heard “Terrible Things” by Mayday Parade before, but if you haven’t, please do so now. I have listened to this song many times and have always thought it was so beautiful and so sad at the same time, but for the first time, I sat down and actually analyzed the lyrics. It starts out with two people exchanging a “love at first sight” glance, and then these young lovebirds are completely infatuated with one another. But just as quickly as their whirlwind love affair began, it ended. The singer then concludes,

so don’t fall in love, there’s just too much to lose

if you’re given the choice, I beg you to choose

to walk away, walk away, don’t let her get you.

I can’t bear to see the same happen to you

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always agreed with the saying that it’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. That is what I had thought the song was about until I actually listened to it rather than just hearing it. The song is right in saying the life can do terrible things, but it is completely off track as to how you should react to these terrible things. You don’t know what is just around the corner or what curveball is going to be thrown your way, but that does not mean that you concede and never take another chance in your life. This obviously applies to love; you can’t live your whole life with your heart in a locked box to which only you have the key. Tragedies will happen, or on a lesser scale, someone may hurt you in a relationship. But it also applies to life in general, especially as college students where we are met with so many new opportunities and chances. There are so many chances that we tend to miss out on because we are worried about the fallout afterwards rather than all the good that will come out of the experience in the present, so don’t let the fear of failure or heartbreak keep you from enjoying everything life has to offer.

I don’t know if you have heard “Terrible Things” by Mayday Parade before, but if you haven’t, please do so now. I have listened to this song many times and have always thought it was so beautiful and so sad at the same time, but for the first time, I sat down and actually analyzed the lyrics. It starts out with two people exchanging a “love at first sight” glance, and then these young lovebirds are completely infatuated with one another. But just as quickly as their whirlwind love affair began, it ended. The singer then concludes,

 

so don’t fall in love, there’s just too much to lose

if you’re given the choice, I beg you to choose

to walk away, walk away, don’t let her get you.

I can’t bear to see the same happen to you

I don’t know about you, but I’ve always agreed with the saying that it’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. That is what I had thought the song was about until I actually listened to it rather than just hearing it. The song is right in saying the life can do terrible things, but it is completely off track as to how you should react to these terrible things. You don’t know what is just around the corner or what curveball is going to be thrown your way, but that does not mean that you concede and never take another chance in your life. This obviously applies to love; you can’t live your whole life with your heart in a locked box to which only you have the key. Tragedies will happen, or on a lesser scale, someone may hurt you in a relationship. But it also applies to life in general, especially as college students where we are met with so many new opportunities and chances. There are so many chances that we tend to miss out on because we are worried about the fallout afterwards rather than all the good that will come out of the experience in the present, so don’t let the fear of failure or heartbreak keep you from enjoying everything life has to offer.

Karina is a senior majoring in Anthropology and Human Biology at Emory University, currenlty contemplating what to do with her life post-graduation. In her free time she enjoys spending too much time on instagram and pinterest, traveling, eating too much food, watching Indie movies on Netflix, and going to concerts of her favortite punk rock bands. Most likely doing all of this with a cup of coffee in her hand. 
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Jordan Chapman

Oxford Emory

Jordan Chapman is a visual art and international studies major with a French minor at Emory University. As a second year student, she's incredibly busy, but when you add jetsetting and writing a blog (in addition to a Youtube channel), her life is more busy than you may think. When she isn't watching Stranger Things or writing blog posts, she's in class or sending emails, with the dream of being the next big editor or fashion blogger. As a future London expat and wanderlust victim, she visits the land across the pond quite frequently along with many other places in Europe frequently, just hoping that life will take her somewhere fun and exciting.