Wednesday 29 June 2016

To, Missy Higgins

Melissa Morrison Higgins,

Thank you. For everything. Thank you for every song you've ever written, for every song you've covered and put your own twist on; thank you for writing lyrics that have, since day one, spoken straight to my heart in a way that nobody else has ever been able to achieve.

When I was 12 and my best friend moved to the other side of the world, I spent so much time listening to The Special Two. She was also a fan of your's, and it made me feel like we were still connected even though she was having a grand adventure with new friends and noodle bars, and I was stuck in our hometown wearing Marks and Spencers school shoes.

When I was 14, in my angsty teenager phase (I was a huge fan of My Chemical Romance at the time) I used to secretly listen to your music in my bedroom when my friends weren't there - I would to listen to Katie over and over, and in my iTunes library I changed the spelling to 'Katy'.

When I was 16, I started to question my sexuality for the first time; and reading that you were bisexual helped me a lot. Somebody I respected, somebody I trusted and connected with and loved, somebody who was successful - if you could do it, then just maybe I could too. And I listened to Secret, and I felt that in some way it summed up how I felt and what was happening in my life. And that made things okay.


When I was 18 and I moved to university, I was scared; I was stressed, lonely, unsure of what was happening. We Ride was released, and I heard the first few chords, and I cried for hours. And then I got up, went out and owned it. With those lyrics in my head I made friends, made love, went on my own adventures and I grew up.

When I was 20, overcoming depression, getting out of a long-term relationship, I found solace in your music again. And again, and again. Steer became my own soundtrack, so much so I wrote tweets and emails and ended up with a tattoo of the lyrics in your handwriting; so now, you're always with me. Now I have those three words as a constant reminder that my life is my own, and I can do anything.

So thank you; thank you for being there when I'm happy, when I'm sad, when I'm grieving or stressed or excited. Thank you for inspiring me, for educating me, for making sure that home was a person and not a place.

I love and respect you endlessly, and I will forever be grateful that you exist. All my love to you, Dan and baby Samuel.


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