As many of us know, breakups are a part of life. The ups and downs, the days of feeling like you’re not good enough for someone when in reality, they are just not good enough for you.
You are more than what someone else thinks of you.
But it doesn’t always feel like it. Some days it’s hard enough just getting out of bed, putting on those walking shoes, and taking a spin around the block. Believe me, I’ve been there. It hurts. But we get through it. Something that always helps me is music. Knowing that somewhere out there, at some point in time, an artist or songwriter felt the same way I do right now makes the world that much more bearable.
So here’s my list of post-breakup songs that make me dance and are slowly but surely giving me back my groove. And no, Kuzco, I’m not going to share!
“Any Way You Want It/ Lovin’ Touchin’ Squeezin’” Glee Cast Cover
Yes, I know. “But it’s a Glee cover!” At this point in the healing process, after all the soul-searching and the nights laying awake wondering what went wrong, all I really want to do is dance. Dancing and singing along to songs, even if they are covers, let me know that even though some pretty crazy stuff has happened to me, I’m still here. I’m still standing, able to dance, and able to belt it with the best of my stuffed animals. Sure, karaoke is cathartic, but so is being able to just let loose in the safety of your own bedroom.
Screaming into a pillow also helps sometimes.
“Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” Kelly Clarkson
A true breakup song if I ever heard one. Even if you aren’t “starting over with someone new,” they don’t need to know that. Give a little mystery. Remember, that heartbreaker is out of your life for a reason, and so does not need your itinerary or your time. It’s easier to sing the advice of moving on and getting over someone, but if you sing it often enough (in that empowering voice that Kelly has really mastered) then maybe you will start to believe it. You’re still here. You can do this.
“Fight Song” Rachel Platten
There is fight left in all of us. As much as I hate to say it, time really does heal a lot of what ails you. Those days you spent crying and wondering what you could have done differently will fade into distant memory. To me, this song represents the possibilities of a better tomorrow. That there is still a future worth fighting for, even if it doesn’t include the person I thought it would. I also want to bang a drum or something equally cool throughout most of thi song, and hitting things (NOT PEOPLE) is always cathartic.
“Listen” Dream Girls
The song in your heart may not be from a musical, but whatever it is will be worth a lot to the right person. So what if that heartbreaker doesn’t appreciate what you have to offer? You know what you’re worth, and honestly, they should have known what they were doing when they let you go. Don’t let the mistakes of one individual dictate your future.
“Good Girl” Carrie Underwood
Sometimes you just need someone to tell you that that part of your life, that that person in that part of your life, is no good for you. All those dreams you had for the future, all those hopes you had of your life together, are nothing more than memories now. It’s time to move forward. It’s time to take charge of the life you wanted to give to that other person and take it back for yourself.
“Affirmation” Savage Garden
This is just an upbeat song that continually reminds me what I can be grateful for instead of focusing on all the negatives. This is also a very fun dance number.
“Water Under the Bridge” Adele
If this song doesn’t make you get up and dance, then we need to have a talk. Yes, it’s a song about not really being over someone, but that’s okay. The world may expect you to put on a smile and soldier on, but trust me, I know forgetting someone isn’t always that easy. It’s perfectly okay to feel things.
As I’ve said before, breaking up is hard to do, but I hope these songs make you dance and smile. Maybe you’ll even sing along to a few of them. It’s time to feel something, if not else, then at least alongside that sadness.
You deserve to be happy.
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