Everything I Need to Know, I Learned From “Don’t Stop Believin'”

When I was a freshman in college, my best friend/roommate/practical sister hated the song “Don’t Stop Believin‘” because… something that had to do with a guy she liked’s girlfriend or something. Anyway, she was always pissed when the song came on, which was always because “everyone loves this stupid song,” she would angrily state. So, because I’m crazy loyal (LEO), I hated the song as well, even though I had pretty much never even heard it. I was that 18 year old that was like, “Journey? Don’t they sing that one song from The Simpsons episode with Mr. Burns’ son in it?” because the references I am capable of making are unrelatable. BECAUSE I AM BARELY RELATABLE AS A HUMAN BEING.

So, anyway. Then I loved it later in life, and don’t tell Casee! She might be mad and/or not remember that she hates the song in the first place and/or might not even hate the song anymore because it was like a million years ago. If she wanted me to hate it, I would, but also I would still listen to it in secret during my jogs where I listen to Glee covers of popular songs–even though I tell people I’m listening to rap music–and have karaoke fantasies of who I would sing them to and/or with. “Don’t Stop Believin’” belongs to me and this one guy I know who is in a barbershop quartet so he can actually sing, but in my fantasy, I sing like Rachel Berry, and he sings better than Finn Hudson, but we have perfectly timed musical chemistry with each other and I spin around and we change the words to things that apply to our lives, like “L.A.” instead of Detroit.

Ahem. That got really unnecessary.

EINTKILF “Don’t Stop Believin‘”

1. The world is lonely.
That can be incredibly true, but thank god for the internet where you can always be reminded of the good in the world.

2. Midnight trains go anywhere.
…though I would very much like to take the time to say that in my small town, at least, there is no such thing as a midnight train. Not even close. Like if you miss the eight o’clock train, you are just going to have to wait until the morning to “go anywhere.”

3. Songs sung by bands and/or individuals have the potential to make great duets.

Wait, I guess I didn’t really learn that from this song in particular, but I just talked about Glee, so I think it’s okay to say that Rachel and Finn made this song a bomb duet, but then Rachel also sings it (mostly) alone again and she kills it obviously, so really, this song can be sung by like ten people, or five, or two, or one. This song is everything. That’s the lesson I’m getting at, I think. This song is my everything.

4. The smell of wine and cheap perfume is a thing.
Though I think for me personally, the smell is usually cheap wine and middle school body spray, but I see the vision.

5. For a smile, you can potentially share the night.
Whatever that means. Is this like picking a stranger up in a bar thing? Cause I don’t do that, but I guess I know how. Smiles go a long way.

6. Sometimes, you gotta live just to find emotion.
OBVIOUSLY my favorite line, because it is incredibly true. I am basically always living just to find emotion. I chase passion, I don’t talk to people who don’t thrill me, even negatively, yadda yadda yadda, I’m so the worst.

7. Everybody wants a thrill.
Why do you think I like Glee so much? What, where do you get your thrills?

• 8. Some will win…
• …some will lose.
• Pretty sure I fit into the category of “some were born to sing the blues.” Like this song, loudly. And out-of-key. On repeat. In the privacy of my own home. And sometimes a karaoke bar.

9. The movie never ends.
It goes on, and on, and on, and on.

Like The Neverending Story.

Or Face/Off.

10. Don’t stop believing.
Lemme get cornball with it for a quick second.

I listen to this song when I am getting tired toward the end of a run. I listen to it whenever they sing it on Glee, and usually in the morning when I’m getting ready for the day. It is one of three (also “Vienna“by Billy Joel, and “Keep Ya Head Up” by Tupac) songs I listen to when I’m in a bad mood on my walk to work. It is a song I listen to after, or before, a few drinks with my roommate / friend Brittney. It is a song I quote every so often on Twitter and / or Facebook, and most importantly, it is the song I play when I am feeling worn out or dejected about my love life.

Which is always.

Because it always, always applies, and you should truly never, ever stop believing.

Featured image via ,