We all have our celebrity obsessions, and for me, John Mayer takes the cake.
I have been infatuated with him since his first CD, “Room For Squares,” was released and, well, the rest is history.
I think many other people identify with him as much as I do. He was an awkward high school loner who would rather stay home and play his guitar than go to the notorious high school parties.
His songs always cover themes such as being too introspective (“Clarity”), being singled out (“Vultures”), fear of aging (“Stop This Train”), throwing stones from a glass house (think American youth in “Waiting on the World to Change”) , and questioning the meaning of life in general (“Why Georgia”).
I could go on about how much I love Mayer but I think the reason is because he sings everything I feel but don’t know how to verbalize. When I went to his recent concert, there were thousands of other die-hard Mayer fans that shared my same special connection with him.
They too felt like our pal John knew exactly what they were thinking, knew the feelings of insecurity, the accruing of self doubt as time moves along. When the whole audience was standing up and singing along to “Bigger than My Body” with Mayer’s silhouette made epic through the lighting that is when it hit me: “We are all in this together.”
Why do we all live in our own little worlds, pitying ourselves and losing ourselves in thoughts that we think have never been thought by other people before?
With Mayer as our common beacon of guiding light, it was obvious that everyone could identify with the emotions portrayed in his songs. If we could reach out to him and his lyrics, why we couldn’t reach out to each other and help each other along in our quest for self-fulfillment?
Usually, when I listen to his songs, I am alone, with my iPod creating a whole different world in my head, exclusive to Mayer and myself. His concert was the first time I really shared the rush of feelings I get when I listen to the one and only.
Thanks to John and his insightful songs that are too good not to be heard by everyone, I think we should all do more reaching out of our secluded comfort zones and push through our inhibitions together. Ever since the Mayer concert, I have made a point to be more inviting and congenial to people I don’t know that well, to put in-person communication in front of cyber communication, to be more accepting and tolerant of people I don’t quite understand, and to create more opportunities to share with my friends and family. While I admit I was a tad jealous that everyone was disillusioned enough to believe that they had the same relationship with Mayer as I did, I realized that I wanted to do something that impacts people the way his lyrics do. So John (can I call you John?) thank you for serenading me into a new outlook on myself, others, and life in general. Oh, and if you call it quits with Jennifer Aniston, I will be around.
My favorite John Mayer songs (If I absolutely had to chose): “Clarity;” “Why Georgia;” “Stop This Train;” “Wheel” and “No Such Thing.”
Third time is a charm! I am training for the Disney World Half Marathon with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training! Help me get one-step closer to a cure by donating on my fundraising webpage! https://pages.teamintraining.org/txg/wdw09/mbakerotan
