My Music Motivation
What keep’s me moving along and energized consists of a number of different key things. One of the biggest motivations is my passion for my music. My favorite artist’s are listed below. To me there is not bigger regret than having a strong passion for something inside you and never expressing it because you are worried about what others will think. If you are too worried about your "Impression" and "Reputation" you will never accomplish your biggest dreams and endeavors in life. Go after anything you want to accomplish in life and let your passions shine like a Firework! Yes it may sound cliché but some one thing I have learned is that I can turn something so simply into something very meaningful and extra-ordinary. To me this is a bicycle and a song called "Move Along" along with many others. One thing I love about music is that whatever I do in life or wherever I ride to across the planet, I always seem to have song that fits the moment and mood. The music will always be there when society is not. It is also a positive outlet instead of harmful and/or illegal things like drugs, smoking, and alcohol.
1. Lady Gaga
2. The All-American Rejects
3. Eddie Vedder
4. Tom Petty
5. Katy Perry
6. Nelly
7. Heart
8. Elton John
9. INXS
10. Tour De France themes
11. U2
12. Jim Croche
13. T.A.T.U.
14. Michael Brook (Into The Wild Soundtrack)
15. Madonna
16. Darude
Tom Petty: Into The Great Wide Open
Before the Lady Gaga and before the 12th grade year of high school even began was Tom Petty and his song "Into The Great Wide Open". A song that drove me throughout the 2nd half of 11th grade and after I was no longer part of a running team I was on my own and started to explore central Florida on my bicycle. I would go on long rides through the Seminole State Forest, Ocala National Forest, Little Big Econ State Forest, Wekiva Springs State Park, Rock Springs Run State Preserve, and many other places. The exploring and opening up new doors started to become my biggest thrill in life. I had a big red map book called the Florida Atlas and Gazetteer. I would often intentionally get lost enjoyed the thrill of finding my way out and back home. After getting home I would highlight where I went and highlight the little boxes of the map in the index section.
I came up with goal to eventually cycle in every single county and go in every single box in the map book. The hell with playing video games and unlocking new levels, I was unlocking my own levels on my cycling adventures around central Florida. After seeing "Into the Wild" and exploring on my bicycle in the summer of 2008, I came up with my goal to bicycle from Florida to Alaska and back. I did not have many friends and many thought my lifestyle with bicycling everywhere was a little wacky and eccentric. I did not care what anyone else thought and often I found company through my music, books, and close companions.
I started to feel a deep connection to the following words from Tom Petty's "Into the Great Wide Open":
"The sky was the limit
Into the great wide open,
Under them skies of blue,
Out in the great wide open,
A rebel without a clue"
I envisioned the majestic road to Alaska, the big blue skies of the great wild west, the endless possibilities. I began to dream, to ponder, to imagine where the road would lead. I told myself that you can go after anything you want to accomplish in life. The sky is your limit, keep reaching higher and higher. Goals and dreams are waiting out there for you to accomplish you must go after them. These are your years to live it up and leave no regrets.
Lady Gaga
I did not start out really moved by Lady Gaga's music until the trip to Alaska got rolling along. Throughout 12th grade I listened to a lot of Eddie Vedder, Tom Petty, and other old classic songs. I thought of Lady Gaga as just another pop star that everyone else in high school liked to listen to. I did not like to like the same things a majority of people liked, I was not a follower, I was a rebel, a non-conformist. As soon as I was given a task or assignment I immediately thought "how can I change this and individualize it for myself?".
As days slowly drifted onward during 12th grade I heard Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" song. This song really gets my energized and pumped up to get going and hammer it along while riding. It also helps to free my mind and forget about everything else going on and just enjoy the ride and be out there in that special place and time... in the moment with the music in my mind. The song talks about various distractions and things getting in the way of just unleashing your stresses and just dancing. On rides I often found myself worrying about certain little things like: do I have my tracking device?, is my cell-phone charged up? Do I know where this road leads? After a good 100+ miles into a 200 mile ride I began to tell myself "Hey, forget about all that nonsense and Just Ride" everything's "gonna be okay" "da da doo-doo-mmm Just Dance". Sometimes I would go for hard efforts and came up short of the goal or record I head in mind to break. I would tell myself "Its not your record, but its alright, alright Just Ride!" As the 12th grade came to a close I heard "Poker Face" which I fell in love with the beat. On my 1,259 mile ride from Florida to Pittsburgh I listened to "Poker Face" on the mornings before rides. I remember the rhythm and beat to Poker Face running through my mind on the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway. While it may sound silly to have a connection with a song called "Poker Face" and my cycling, to me the song means so much more than a simple set of cards and a "Poker Face". Like I learned in English and important symbolic things in life, sometimes we must dig deeper and find a more insightful meaning and message into something that appears superficial. All it takes is an open mind and determination and something so basic can turn into something out of this planet gratifying. It get a very high and euphoric feeling thinking back to the riding on the Blue Ridge Parkway. At the time it was the most beautiful place I have ever been. I did not want to be anywhere else at the time, it was almost like the land and beat took me over.
After the Alaska trip ended I started to notice how much different Lady Gaga appeared than most other pop stars. I began to admire this eccentricity and uniqueness. She kind of reminded me of myself and my dare to be different and eccentric personality. I see a lot of Lady Gaga’s songs are sung in different points of views and many of her different costumes go along with different points she is trying convey. Wearing crazy outfits not only makes her more creative and brilliant in a marketing sense, but it adds to her unique and sexy character. I admire her honesty, non-judgmental views, and open mindedness. She appears to be a very unique and as an eccentric personality like myself. I also admire her lack of impressionability and her not caring what people think she looks like. At the same time she’s smart enough to realize the vanity and extravagant famous lifestyles superstars like to have. I love how she is very open to her fans and wants to help them relieve their insecurities. I love the rhythm and beat to a lot of Lady Gaga’s songs and think she has an outstandingly beautiful voice. I listened to many of her songs like “Poker Face”, “Bad Romance"," Dance in the Dark”, and “Then You’d Love Me” on my trip to California and back.
In the end of the 2010 racing season I became coached by Rene Alejandro Fonseca. Lady Gaga is famous for her song on her “Alejandro” on her album called “The Fame Monster”. Coach Alejandro and I began to make up terms based around Lady Gaga. Such as picking up the pace and going all out being known as “laying down the Lady Gaga”. Breaking away from the pack of racers is known as the “Gaga Attack”. If I was feeling low or not full of energy it could be known as “being low on Gaga Gas”. I got a real kick of laughter out of this during and after races.
I typically do not hold back the truth nor do I hold back my energy and spark in my training. Letting this energy out is like “unleashing the Gaga from with-in”. Lady Gaga is an amazing individual and extremely talented music artist and I could care less what people think when I tell them that I like Lady Gaga. Life is too short to be impressionable and worry about what people think. I believe if you are too concern and your impression and reputation you will never be able to go after your biggest dreams and goals because you are too worried with what others want to see you accomplish. Some people may not think of me as someone who should listen to Lady Gaga but I really could care less what these people think. The biggest regret for a person would be to live a life with a strong passion for something, but never taking it anywhere or expressing yourself because you are worried about what people think.
My own insights are backed up by Lady Gaga and her motives. I always tell myself that everybody has an individual within and to be myself no matter what. To find something I want badly enough in life, and to go after it like there’s no tomorrow. To never worry about what people think and never to be afraid to put myself out there. While my passion may appear to be obsessive or crazy in some close-minded people’s heads, others will find it very amazing and become inspired by it. Be patient. Any thing really worth the while in life will take a hard honest effort, time, and patience. Someone out there will admire you for who you are; because with time and patience, good things will come my friend. Find your Gaga within because baby you were “Born This Way”! Forget about what people want to see you do, or what looks good for the mainstream of society, and do what you want to and unleash the individual from within. To me Lady Gaga represents Acceptance, Individuality, and Liberation. Forget about stereotypes of Lady Gaga fans being all gays, lesbians, or transgender. There is no label for a gaga fan, its simply anyone who is open-minded and accepting that can love anything they want to love in life. But whatever the case in sexual orientation, race, religion, or whatever; rather than question, than argue with, than make fun of, or even try to relate to; just ACCEPT and the world will be such a more peaceful place.
It was quite the adventure and thrill to have Lady Gaga playing through the load speakers during my Race Across America. When the music was not played through loud speakers I used my Lady Gaga Heartbeats earphones which did an excellent job of blocking out surrounding noises. It became ritual to have a Lady Gaga song blasting upon passing a rider. It was especially fun going up mountain climbs because the slower pace allowed for me and the other racers to hear the music better. The best songs to jam to during the night were: Dance in the Dark, Heavy Metal Lover, Marry the Night, and Bad Romance.
!GaGa ForEver!
My Favorite Lady Gaga Songs:
1. Dance in the Dark
2. Heavy Metal Lover
3. Poker Face
4. Hair
5. Bad Romance
6. Born This Way
7. Just Dance
8. The Edge of Glory
9. I Like it Rough
10. Electric Chapel
11. Alejandro
12. Then You’d Love Me
13. Fashion of His Love
14. Scheisse
15. Marry The Night
16. Highway Unicorn
The All-American Rejects and “Move Along”
From the very first time I heard this song between 10th and 11th grade in high school I began to build on it and have loved it ever since. I first heard “Move Along” in the movie “The Hitcher”. It has deeply motivated me and driven me through all the pain and struggles in not only my athletics but in any challenge in life. Above all If I had to pick one song to represent my trip to Alaska and Back it would be "Move Along". During some of the nastiest and most painful parts of the trips I would dig deep and keep the lyrics playing through my head and reminded myself never to give up. After accomplishing my goals I would record them in my journal I would write to myself: Keep MOVING Along! Day after day I would push on towards Alaska not to let anything stop my Uncle and I from accomplishing my dream. Through the euphoric times to the very worst and nastiest days I kept telling myself. "This is your moment, be here now and know that nothing can stop you, you will make it to Alaska." Road blocks popped up, nasty weather hit, I got sick, my steel frame bicycle cracked, and then more nasty weather hit. I knew that there was something good waiting down the road throughout all the struggle and I had to be patient and just move along! Some other songs came and went throughout different parts of the trip but “Move Along” stayed with me day in and day out. It is one of the only songs I can listen to over and over and over.
When a day is looking completely wrecked by a bad event, bad weather, or a bad person we meet; I have to dig deep and believe that something good is waiting down the road for me. I may not know what it is, but I tell myself to just “Move Along” and you will get there. Sometimes my spirit would become uplifted and a day that started out completely shitty would slowly start to get better. My Uncle and I were riding through 45 degree rain in the middle of bug-invested Canada and 60 miles into the day a vehicle pulls up and a friendly guy named Greg East offers a place to stay the next night. He also fed us snacks and soda. The next day we woke up to 35 degree rain and a nearly flooded tent. We really had to dig deep and tell ourselves, just stay strong and keep moving along! The pain and struggle will pay off once you meet with Greg East in the evening. I do not want to give up and look back and think "what could have happened if I kept pushing along?" I tell myself to ride with no regrets that way I will look back with some of the best memories of my entire life.
I thank The All-American Rejects for putting the song “Move Along” into existence. They are one of the most heart-felt bands that have ever existed in my life. They are real. They are humans unlike some other stuck up artists and superstars. “Move Along” has been with me throughout the toughest struggles and best times of my life. “Move Along” will stay with me for the rest of my life and in future feats to triumph.
Throughout all the thousand of miles behind me across North America on my bicycle, I have been through many different struggles, met many different people, seen many different beautiful sights, and battled through many miles of horrific weather. Many people have come in and out of my life and friendships have opened and closed but one thing that has been with me on many of my lonely and triumphant miles and struggles has been Lady Gaga and “Move Along”. This has always brought a spark on in my training and it has been there with me when everything else goes wrong. The music shall remain with me not just through many more miles to come, but many more feats and obstacles to overcome in life. I continue to tell myself "Hey if you can ride 13,769 miles to from Florida to Alaska and back, you will be prepared for whatever challenge comes up in life" "Move along, Move Along like I know you do!"
During my 2011 Race Across America, my crew and I ran into quite a few problems and including un-organization and raving tempers. When everything seemed to be going wrong and things got stressful I could always turn to my music as an outlet. I told myself to Just Ride! Forget about anything else and just take this moment in and focus on the road ahead, if all else fails, you’ve still got your "Move Along" and Lady Gaga in your ears. The music is a love that will never stop and say "Steven we need to talk, this is not working out".