Band Imagines

The Four Steps of Recovery

An essay I wrote to... I had a revelation. I thought to myself, "why the fuck am I crying so hard over Palaye Royale right now? They gave me nothing!" That's when it hit me; They did give me something. They gave me something I am very thankful for. They're just as important as the others are to me.
This is why.

They came in steps, one at a time. It began with My Chemical Romance next Black Veil Brides, Twenty One Pilots and finally Palaye Royale. Each step was something new and something equally as important as the last.

My Chemical Romance picked me up and raised me. Everything they did and said was a lesson, a lecture, an example. Due to this, they taught me more than my parents or school system could teach me in such a shorter amount of time than society could have taught me. What they taught me has ranged from drug abuse, depression, and suicide to jokes, art, expression, education. Without their words, I would be very much different. These men were the first step to recovery from whatever the hell consumed me. They gave me knowledge, strength and will.

The second step came to me as Black Veil Brides. These five men lifted me up and dusted me off when I fell. When I felt like no one who was going to go nowhere they scolded me. They demanded I believe otherwise! I was so much more than what I was made to believe by others, including myself. Courage, they gave me courage. When I was pushed down I refused to stay down. They taught me that enough is enough! I have to get off my ass and fight for myself, even if that means I fight alone against twenty people. Never give in, never back down. Those are the words they made me live by. Not once would I do what they wanted or believe what they said. I was to find my own way, my own information, my own opinions and I was not to allow myself to become their carpet again. This band, step two, taught me what a war is and how to win one.

The third step was two men, Twenty One Pilots. When the floor crumbled beneath me they waltzed in and grabbed my wrist. They yanked me onto their ground where they refused to teach me anything. Together we shared stories, pain, love, friendship. They helped me realize life is full of shit people and shit things, but that what I make of it is my own good or my own bad. Two men allowed me to express myself through their words all the while dancing with them. They may not have taught me anything themselves, but with their help I learned more than I intended for.

Palaye Royale was the last step for me right now. Number four is not the least important as you would expect. They taught me nothing. They are no heroes to me. So why include them in here? Because I seem infatuated with them? No, because they give me one thing that allows me to hold onto everything the previous three gave me: happiness. Their music has me dancing around screaming the lyrics like I die tomorrow. Lyrics leave my lips and a smile forms. The beat enters my body and I move to it with no thought, no care. They gave me the ability to be happy. With happiness I can remember the stories from step three, the courage from step two and the knowledge from step one.

They came to me in four steps of recovery. I could not be more thankful for them and for that. My friends, my brothers, my uncles and my fathers gave me everything I need to live life and be moderately okay. With their music, their lyrics, I can be on top of the world and utterly okay for once. My steps of recovery came in the form of music, of 14 men. What did your steps of recovery come in the form of?