If you’ve given the “Punisher” album a listen, then you’re probably familiar with the song “Graceland Too.” In this song, Phoebe candidly repeats the line, “whatever she wants, whatever she wants” throughout the chorus, and I feel like this is the kind of energy we could all use some more of.
In society, so many women are nudged to take a passive, back-seat role in their day-to-day activities, but this line is everything to me because it serves as a reminder that we can do whatever we want in our lives. We have agency, and through that, we have the power to take actionable steps to move in the direction we want to go.
Okay, okay. I know this line was probably written for a love interest; but in my world, I like to interpret it as Phoebe singing to herself in the name of self-love.
To me, self-love isn’t all face masks and vanilla bean candles. It’s a process that’s painful and confusing at times. It’s hard to recognize that you don’t have it all together, and it’s hard to recognize that you might not be exactly where you want to be yet.
“A rebel without a clue”
As I reflect more on what this song means to me, I’ve come to realize that we can find comfort in the uncertainty of life.
“Graceland Too” basically follows the story of a woman leaving a psych-ward who doesn’t know exactly where she’s going but confidently chooses a direction to go anyway. The lyrics touch on the process of going through a journey to get to where you are now; reflecting on the past fondly, but at the same time realizing that all these experiences have shaped you into who you are today.
Growth can be grueling, but this song can remind us that it’s okay to not know it all in the moment. Whether you’ve had to overcome mental health struggles, or have had to deal with the consequences of reckless decisions you’ve made in the past: these moments don’t define your future.
You can’t learn anything without messing up a couple of times (or a lot more than just a couple if we’re being real), and you can choose to recognize the steps you took along your path to get to this. present. moment.
Life’s a journey anyway, not a destination, and you can do whatever you want to move forward and be your best self.