Fifty Days Underground

April 26, 2014

Who inspired today's broken heart song?

A woman who serial dated, and had her heart broken repetitively by different men. She dated someone in college, and it was love at first sight. She had never experienced anything like it, and fell very hard and fast. A little less than a year later, they were talking about marriage and looking at rings. They believed they were soul mates. But soon after, he became severely depressed and dropped out of college. She switched schools to be near him, but he ended up breaking up with her.

Six months later, she fell for someone else who didn't treat her well. Although they were together for two and a half years, she knew he was a rebound from her previous relationship. After they graduated, she drove out to see him several times, but he would never make the effort to see her. He joined an online dating site, told her he was lonely and looking for friends. He ended up proposing to her, but she declined. They kept dating, but eventually ended it.

She started hanging out with the first college boyfriend again. They dated for six months, and started telling each other they loved each other again. Shortly after, he changed his Facebook status to "in a relationship" with another girl. She was angry at herself for falling for him again. She vowed not to date again until she figured out who she was and what she wanted. She had an amazing year with her friends, and learned some valuable life lessons.

Since having her heart broken and being in the wrong relationships just for the sake of not being alone, she's realized who she is and what she wants out of life. She's now happily engaged, and believes we create our own happiness in life, no matter what obstacles are thrown our way. 

The Splashdown was written by the talented Jay Schneider of Jet Black Sunrise. The song is about the concept of falling for someone without thinking, and picking up the pieces later. It's something we've all done in our lives, and it either works or it doesn't. But we learn from it, nonetheless. You have to go for it—because you're just going to listen to your gut or your heart anyway. So all you can do is hope that you land safely (or splash down) rather than crash and burn.

Where did you play?

Herald Square – 34th St.

How much did you earn?

$2.30

Did anything unusual happen? 

I had the wonderful opportunity to perform with Jay again today. It's always a blast playing together, although we often spend more time chatting than singing, haha. I am so grateful that he went out of his way to write a song for Fifty Days Underground - that's a good friend right there! Herald Square was quieter than we suspected for a Saturday afternoon, but we had fun regardless. We tried out a few different spots around the station.

There was a little girl who came and tapped me on my arm when we were singing. She had a huge smile on her face, and proceeded to put some coins into my hand. So was absolutely adorable. 

Did you meet anyone interesting?

There was a man with a hat who approached us to ask about the project. I gave him a card, and explained the project to him. He seemed very interested. Turns out, he is a professor in the Fine Arts Department at Columbia University. He gave me his contact information and told me to submit my project to him because the university often sponsors projects that strike an interest to them. He said, "We're always looking for artists with different spectrums."

We were also lucky enough to have a friend come shoot some video footage of today's performance.

What's the best advice you received from a stranger?

No advice, so fun facts:

The wind from the trains passing by was worst than ever before. As a result, I lost a couple business cards that flew into the train tracks.

For no rhyme or reason, I think today marks the lowest income I've ever made.

Herald Square remains to be the stinkiest from all the subway stations I have performed at.

How are you feeling?

I can't complain. I had so much fun playing with Jay again, and I feel so appreciative that he wrote a song for Fifty Days Underground! It's a beautiful song, and I'm so grateful he has shared his talent with this project several times now. The end is near and it's kind of surreal. It feels like just yesterday, I was making the scary decision to undertake this challenge.

Yesterday's blog post has had me thinking about what I want and deserve in a relationship. The way that man wrote about the woman he loves was so beautiful. He would do absolutely anything to be with her. And maybe I'm naive and stuck in a fantasy world (as usual), but I want that. I want to be the most beautiful woman in the world to someone one day. I never want to doubt that the person I'm with loves me more than anything else. I want to know that I am perfect in his eyes, despite my many flaws. 

I have been watching couples in love on the train lately, holding hands, kissing, gazing into each others eyes, and it always makes me smile. It's getting me really excited for my next project... *hint hint!* Maybe love doesn't always last forever, but isn't it just magical in the moment? Okay, cherish that. My girly moments are far and few. :p Having said all that, I'm having an amazing time not being in a relationship. This personal growth has been so rewarding, and I wouldn't change it for anything else in my life right now.

I'm going to try to make these last few songs strong for you all. I still have no idea what I'm going to write for my story on Day 50, and not going to lie, it's kind of stressing me out! 1-800-HELP-ME-ADELE. 

© 2014 Kelly Bazely