Say Cheese!

Ever heard this song before?

We were strangers starting out on our journey

Never dreaming what we'd have to go through

Now here we are and I'm suddenly standing

At the beginning with you

No one told me I was going to find you

Unexpected what you did to my heart

When I lost hope you were there to remind me

This is the start.

We were strangers on a crazy adventure

Never dreaming how our dreams would come true

Now here we stand unafraid of the future

At the beginning with you.

I knew there was somebody somewhere

Like me alone in the dark

I know that my dream will live on

I've been waiting so long

Nothing's gonna tear us apart.

And Life is a road and I want to keep going

Love is a river I want to keep flowing

Life is a road now and forever

Wonderful journey

I'll be there when the world stops turning

I'll be there when the storm is through

In the end I wanna be standing

At the beginning with you

In the end I wanna be standing at the beginning with you

It's from Anastasia, in case you were wondering. Credits.

It also happens to be an extremely cheesy song. Look at that last line again? Talk about nonsensical garbage. But we like it anyway. It's cute. It may be cheesy, but it's cute. So it doesn't matter.

EXACTLY.

Here's my problem with some outlooks: if a song has a serious message and states it bluntly, we call it cheesy. Yet—and don't get my wrong, I love this song—things like this with no decipherable meaning we think are cute even though, yes, it's cheesy too.

What's with the double standard, people? Yeah, some songs just sound horribly cheesy. There's no way to get around that. But don't think that just because a song is teaching you good morals, it's also cheesy. It's all about your perspective.

You may never be able to look at this song the same way again. Sorry. But you're in control of how you allow music—or many other forms of media—to reach you. If you'd like to blissfully ignore the uplifting things around you simply because they make you feel all fuzzy inside (oh noes! the fuzzies!) and that makes you feel soft or vulnerable or exposed, fine. But I certainly wouldn't recommend it.

Remember that little chat we had about listening to yourself? Your heart? Well, do it. And the fuzzies are your heart talking. Don't push it away. Don't harden your heart—if you feel a little bullheaded as you read this...well, that's the hardening. Oops.

I just say this because I happen to like cheesy things. Romantic, no. Cheesy, yes. Songs and poems that teach you to do right. And I think way too many people in this world seem to be afraid of changing their hearts.

Friends will always see you through,
Believe in things you want to do,
Feel happy when your dreams come true,

That's just the way friends are.

Friends will always be right there,

With wisdom, faith, and strength to share,

With love that shows how much they care,

That's just the way friends are.

Yeah. Super cheesy. But it makes me want to be a better friend, and a better person. I love this poem. It's on my bedroom wall. No kidding, it's lame and stupid by the world's standards, but that's because the world has no standards. I do.

Your perspective is what matters. You can let everything be cheesy, or a few things, or nothing. I choose to look past the cheesiness of anything I find and if it has value, it's not cheesy. Not to me.

Don't push away the things that prick your heart. Your heart always knows better than your mind.

***

Hmm. This is a bit weird. I want to disagree with this whole post. I guess that's kind of the point. Instinctively, this post will be rejected. You might need to test this one out before you decide what you think.

I have a terrible tendency to simplify things. This has been really, really simplified. Things can be cheesy and likeable. You can accept that something is cheesy, but also enjoy it.

Note: Not everything has value. I once took great pleasure in ripping to shreds a piece of choir sheet music that was one of the worst pieces I've ever had the displeasure to lay eyes on. Something about cheerful butterflies?