It feels like Elvis died. That’s the only way I know how to put it.
Tom Petty helped me through a divorce and some really tough times in my life. He was also there for me in the hopeful times. I feel like his music was like this little soundtrack running in the background in this crazy movie I call my life. I know his music spoke to many others.
In many ways, Tom Petty was the great unifier. Our country is so divided right now, but we all loved Tom Petty. He’s what we have in common, and I have to believe that, as long as we have Tom Petty in common, there’s some hope for us, for our country, for our children. Right now, in light of this week’s tragic events, I want to hang onto that.
“His music was like this little soundtrack running in the background in this crazy movie I call my life.”
So I wanted to share the wisdom of my life as learned from Tom Petty’s music. You may have heard of the list “all I really need to know, I learned from kindergarten.” Well, all I really need to know, I learned from Tom Petty music.
1. It would be good to be king, but that’s probably not going to happen. And that’s okay.
2. It’s hard to fly, but you have to keep trying. We should probably all have wings.
3. It’s okay to roll a joint. Not that I’m saying I partake. I’m just saying it’s probably okay, especially given the fact we can’t be kings and don’t have wings.
4. If you find your girl (or boy), you should hang onto them.
5. Love is really important. It will save you in a world gone mad, so very mad.
6. Love is worth fighting for.
7. It’s okay to be different and kind of weird. In fact, it’s probably better than being normal.
8. The waiting is definitely, definitely the hardest part.
9. Sometimes, you have to stand up and just not back down.
10. Sometimes, you have to run down your dreams, no matter where they lead.
11. And, if you go down from that, go down swinging.
12. But, sometimes, it’s just time to move on, time to get going.
13. You don’t know how it feels to be me, but I think Tom Petty might have known how it feels to be all of us.
14. It’s okay if you feel like a loser sometimes, because you will get lucky sometimes.
15. Music really can help you heal, and we really need that right now for so many reasons. Thank you for the music, Tom Petty.
What did you learn from Tom Petty’s music? Let’s keep this list going as a way to share our sorrow and feel a little bit more together right now. Please add to the list. I know there’s so much more!
