My last mixtape came at a dark time. I probably shouldn’t have done it. Know your limits, they say. That takes some practice. Maybe you are going through a dark place now. Maybe it’s because you didn’t set those boundaries. But maybe not, I don’t know you. Whatever kind of dark places you’re going through, have been through, or are yet to go through, I guess this mix is for you.

It’s not just a ‘help me get through this’ deal – although it is also that. I put this mix together more from a place of acceptance. Acceptance of what you’re going through. Accepting your pain, your mistakes, your challenging thoughts. Forgiving yourself. Reminding yourself that it’s ok to be you. It’s a little journey and I hope that it helps someone.

When I first wrote down some notes for the blurb to go along with this mix, they happened to fall out in a poetic kind of meter, so I ran with it. At some point I lost my momentum and — in the spirit of our time — asked an AI to finish it for me. You’ll find the result below. I’ll leave it as an exercise to guess where the man ends and the machine begins. Enjoy the mix, and remember:

It’s OK to be You.

An Ode to Going Through Dark Places

To just keep going.
Despite what they say,
You never go backwards to go forwards.
You always go forward.
Sometimes going forwards just feels like going backwards.
Just keep going.
You’ve come so far already 
Regardless of what it takes to make a world a better place,
You will find yourself by your choosing.
Even if it means pulling the trampoline out of the wall.
Even if it means having to drive on all fours for miles.
You will go to any length to make your dreams come true.
Whether that is buying a car to run down one of your teachers,
Picking up extra shifts to travel back to hear your mother,
Taking the heat.