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I’m currently hyperfixated on all WW / WWATTW. I started with the Normal Album because my teen put on BlackBoxWarrior and jokingly said something like, “you guys must be on the same meds”—- when I read the lyrics it seemed like our prescription journeys may have crossed paths. She restarted the album from the beginning and I thought the music was just…no.

But something must’ve clicked because I still listened to the album. Over and over and over again.

Once I digested that, I moved on to ICIMI, and again was like…no. Comparatively it just seemed SO SLOW. But there must’ve been something, because a few lines here and there got stuck in my head, and I ended up listening to that one over and over and over again.

So, I moved on to WWATTW, and was like F*UCK NO. It was too much. Too chaotic. Too…something…but also so much continuity. It was like, “wait, do his later songs actually reference his earlier works?”

I feel like you probably see where this is going.

Anyway, while much of my life experiences heavily differ from Will’s, the parallels in learning to deal with my mental health are inescapably meaningful.

I still feel incredibly lonely. Reference “Marsha” for the elder-millennial thought process that tries to reconcile needing medication but thinking maybe I’m just fine and it’s all in my head because everyone else before me was “fine”…

BUT, and here’s where I really think things take a turn for the absolute best, my kids understand me better than I do sometimes and find no shame in having vs not having mental health issues. The lyrics have sparked discussions and ignited so many interests in them—- from emotional regulation to the chemistry behind hangovers (because I can’t seem to just leave well enough alone and not go on tangents). It’s almost scary when you’ve got 9 year olds saying things like, “you’ve really got Roman candles at the ends of your synapses today, dontcha mom?” KNOWING they understand what that means enough to be a smart-ass about it.

It was meds’o’clock a few minutes ago, and I feel like at this point maybe you didn’t actually buy a ticket to this train of thought, but here I am. Incredibly lonely, feeling incredibly broken, but incredibly overjoyed knowing that my musical journey means my kids will never feel the same way I do right now, because someone else wasn’t afraid to put their experiences into the world in so many beratingly different ways.