Songs About Resilience
Resilience is a sparkling, fancy word for surviving. A survivor is gritty; she has struggled. But a resilient woman? She bounces back with rubber band-like ease and elasticity.
The process of resilience is not like a rubber band at all, though. It’s more like climbing that horrible rope in middle school gym class — slow, sweaty and you might get a few calluses on the way up. Oh, and everyone’s watching while you do it.
My trouble with resilience is that it seems to value the cinematic ending, the self-actualized, the “better than before.” Resilience should be about every stage of recovering, not simply how shiny and pulled together you appear at the end of your struggle. What if you never bounce back to your old self? What if you are meant to become someone new entirely?
I have made a resilient new friend in the last six months. She is climbing the rope every single day, even if some days it’s just an inch. Her resilience is in her small shows of strength: she stays late to finish work projects or makes an effort to look glamorous that day. She has not stopped giving more of herself even though she could retreat to a deep and dark place and no one would blame her.
I am thinking of my friend while I make this playlist, and all the women who have had to overcome a struggle like hers. Each song is meant to make you feel stronger, to make you feel like a survivor. Some of them are cheesy disco tracks, but I would seriously challenge you to not feel like the resilient goddess you are while grooving to Gloria Gaynor in your bedroom.
Find your strength, but know it doesn’t have to come all at once. Resilience can be a slow burn back to brightness.
It starts slow, but by the end you are belting it out with Bey and you’ve overcome all your struggles.
2. “You Learn” by Alanis Morissette
Because resilience requires learning from any number of mistakes made or battles fought.
3. “At Seventeen” by Janis Ian
I feel like this song perfectly sums up the resilience every woman has to possess just to get through puberty.
4. “Not Ready to Make Nice” by the Dixie Chicks
Natalie Maines, one of America’s most under-appreciated poets, with a healthy dose of anger toward the idea of, “Can’t you just get over it?”
5. “Extraordinary Machine” by Fiona Apple
Fiona is a master of whimsy here, though this song is about strength, independence and knowing what’s best for yourself.
Sing this one to your reflection in the morning for a confidence boost.
7. “Girl on Fire” by Alicia Keys
A song for the open road and sunshine and feeling like you’re queen of it all.
8. “Surface Envy” by Sleater-Kinney
It’s hard to be resilient all by yourself. Let your friends (and Sleater-Kinney) help you out.
9. “Survivor” by Destiny’s Child
There’s a special kind of power that comes with feeling like a new woman after a shitty breakup.
10. “Proud Mary” by Tina Turner
Tina Turner is resilience and so is the wild tempo change in “Proud Mary”.
11. “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor
Ok, so this one is technically about post-breakup resilience, but you can survive anything with this song (and maybe a few sequins).
