It Might Be a Quarter-Life Crisis

A few weeks ago, I went to a John Mayer concert in West Valley City. It was a super last minute decision but definitely a great decision. Jaime and I drove up there together but once we got to the show, we met up with her friends Kaylee and Krysti.

John Mayer is fabulous. Seriously talented. He's an incredibly smart lyricist and, from my non-guitar-playing point of view, a pretty snazzy guitarist. I don't know if that's a word. I'll just say guitar player. Anyway, the show was really fun, and his songs are just good stuff. Probably one of the most fun parts of the show was making fun of him. I've expressed my love for him, so don't think I was making fun out of spite. It's just that I'm pretty sure he was either drunk or high. Or maybe both. Anyway, he was having a great time and watching him was pretty entertaining. Oh, and I LOVE live music.

Here he is strumming away.

This photo is to show you his sweet bandana headband. He admitted himself that he looked like a fool up there. But he doesn't have anyone to impress. And I'm pretty sure no one there cared.

Kaylee, Kristy, Jaime, and I freezing. Fall is definitely here!

 

Something else that I love: clever song lyrics. There's nothing like a good song that just expresses the way you feel. But that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about lyrics that are creative. I'm talking about lines that express something in a way you never would have thought of but really wish you had. Dave Matthews is one of my favorite songwriters for that reason. John Mayer is another. Throughout the whole show, I kept pointing out to Jaime all the interesting words and phrases and images he was using. I'm pretty sure she'll never want to go to a concert with me again. One of my favorite John Mayer lines: "Thinkin' 'bout my brother Ben./ I miss him every day./ He looks just like his brother John/ but on an 18-month delay." I mean, that's clever right? Pretty much he's just saying that his little brother's 18 months younger than him but "on an 18-month delay" is quite a clever way to say that. Anyway. There are some other lyrics that are way smarter than that, but I like it. Chalk it up to my love of words. Call me a nerd if you want. I'll call you something much more clever than a nerd. During the show, he played an oldie-"Why Georgia." It was on his first album which I'm pretty sure came out when I was like 15. I've heard the song hundreds of times but for some reason, it really hit me that night. Here are the lyrics:

I am driving up 85 on the kind of morning that lasts all afternoon.
I'm just stuck inside the gloom.
Four more exits to my apartment
But I am tempted to keep the car in drive
And leave it all behind.
'Cause I wonder sometimes about the outcome
of a still verdictless life.

Am I livin' it right?
Am I livin' it right?
Am I livin' it right?
Why, why, Georgia, why?

I rent a room and I fill the spaces with wood in places
To make it feel like home.
But all I feel's alone.
It might be a quarter-life crisis
Just a stirrin' in my soul
Either way I wonder sometimes
About the outcome of a still verdictless life.

Am I livin' it right?
Am I livin' it right?
Am I livin' it right?
Why? Why, Georgia, why?

So what? So I've got a smile on.
It's hiding the quiet superstitions in my head.
Don't believe me. Don't believe me
When I say I've got it down.

Everybody is just a stranger. Well.
That's the danger in going my own way.
Guess that's the price I have to pay.
Still, everything happens for a reason
Is no reason not to ask myself

If I am livin' it right.
Am I livin' it right?
Am I livin' it right?
Why? Tell me why.Why?
Why, Georgia, why?
During that song, I felt like John Mayer and I were one. Well, the John Mayer from 2001 and I were one. I was impressed how introspective the song is. And how typical the feelings are. I think every young 20-something has probably felt at least once that they're not really sure where they're going with their life or even where they should be going. So you just go on faking it and how someday you'll figure it out. But, as John so wonderfully states, the old phrase "Everything happens for a reason" is no reason not to check up on yourself. It's no reason to just assume that life will happen to you and you'll deal with it as you go. It's important to check up on yourself and see if you really are living it right. Or at least living it in a way that you feel good about. This is when I felt like little Johnny was even getting a bit religious. Even though a lot of the time I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing with my life, and I wonder if I really am doing what I'm supposed to be doing, I know I can check in with someone and He will tell me. I can kneel down and ask my Heavenly Father if I'm living it right. And He'll tell me. And if I'm not, He'll show me what I need to change. So even though I feel like I, too, am having a quarter-life crisis just about every other day, I can feel the peace the Spirit brings. And I have the gospel as a road map to follow. And if I stay on that path, the verdict will be good in the end. And that's what keeps me going. I wish I could share that with John Mayer. I really think he needs to know.