Fight Song by Rachel Platten is a beautiful song of empowerment and strength. At the age of 22 I had brain surgery to remove a tumor, there was a microscopic piece left which grew slightly and by 2015 it had become aggressive. On a routine MRI it lit up, which meant cancer and treatments of radiation and chemotherapy.
Wait, what?
Not the news you want to hear at the age of 25, but there it was, nonetheless.
Okay, lets handle this.
Every year, at the school I worked for, the teachers would get together and go to a NY Mets baseball game. I wasn't able to attend that year as I had just had my second brain surgery in my short life.
The teacher I worked with who became an incredible friend, had sent me a message saying that they played that song over the loudspeaker, and they all thought of me immediately. It's amazing how a simple text had made me feel so wonderful inside. I knew that I was going to beat this.
I might only have one match.
I was determined to stay positive; I continued working, worked full time as a pre-school Teachers Assistant in an integrated classroom and at a restaurant as a hostess and waitress. I shaved my head and refused to let this beat me down.
At times, I was weak, nauseas, and exhausted. In those moments I relaxed, called out of work, and took the time I needed. I listened to my body. In these moments I allowed myself to be sad, to question why, but I never let it completely drag me down.
This is my fight song, take back my life song!
October 1, 2016 was my last night of chemotherapy; after 1 year and 6 weeks of a chemo regiment I played this song as I took the last of my chemo pills. I played that song on repeat that night.
Here I am, six years later, coloring on the floor with my 3 year old daughter when this song comes on my Pandora and it still hits all the good parts of my soul. I had become fully immersed in our coloring session and when I came back the lyrics "I might only have one match, but I can make an explosion" were louder then they ever have been before.
Sitting there with my little girl, I recognized that this is an important point in life that I hope to instill in her as she grows and becomes her own version of herself.
Watching her grow, explore, and be fearless at times is incredible. Such innocence with such power.
"I got this mommy."
Go for it girl. Please keep that fierceness throughout your life. Please know that life isn't always going to be easy and when those difficult times appear, power through them with confidence and understanding that they do not last forever. Even if it feels like it's the last bit of energy you have to power through, find the strength to use it because sometimes all it takes is one match.