What Makes Me the Happiest

People often ask me what makes me happy... I struggle to find an answer. I pull together words and phrases and I ramble off some nonsensical jumble that confuses the listener. Sometimes I come up with a really good answer and I wow my audience. But, much to my dismay, the next day, or maybe later in the week- that thing that made me "so happy" has broken my heart in a cruel manner in which I feel desperate to heal. Personally, I don't like to live in the moment. I have noticed that living in the moment only leads to heart break and disappointment.

There is one thing that never lets me down. There is one thing that has never disappointed me, not one single time. There is one thing that has never led me to cringe and grab my heart as though it is literally breaking. There is one thing that makes me so incredibly happy that on even the hardest of days, I can find every reason to smile.

I am not good with words. I pretend to be eloquent and say things in a manner through which you as the reader feel moved and feel the passion I feel. Unfortunately, my fake eloquence only goes so far. That is why I want you to read this. It's long... I understand. BUT, it says everything that I have been trying to say for the past two years. She says it so perfectly that I wish I could claim those words as my own and profess them to the world as loud as I can yell. Because the thing that makes me the happiest, is j.wride.

Okay okay, you've heard me blog about them a hundred times. But this is where you need to understand something-  nothing in this world makes me as happy as j.wride. Their music, their melodies, their harmonies, their lyrics, their tone, their personalities, and the people themselves. Jesse Wride, Austin Anderson, and Court Eccles. Three people who have changed my life.

Before I became friends with these three boys I was lonely, I was miserable. I didn't have a place where I felt I belonged. I felt as if I were a nobody. And in all retrospect, I was a nobody. Nobody depended on me, and I felt as if I could disappear and it would make no difference in the world.

Then I went to my first j.wride concert. I went with zero expectations. I went because my friend Jesse told me his band was playing and I thought I should support him. I brought along 9 of my closest friends. The ten of us really didn't expect anything, but from the first song they played, I looked to my right, I looked to my left, and I saw a light in their eyes. It was the light you see when you not only are pleasantly surprised, but when you are incredibly happy. That light that only comes once in a while. The light we all earnestly seek. And by the end of that concert, I was hooked. It was thanks to Jesse and his suggestion I attend the concert. It was thanks to Jesse for his outrageous and rapid hands that played such perfect melodies. It was thanks to Jake Edvalson who played the saxophone beautifully. It was thanks to Garrett who played the bass with ease. And it was thanks to Austin who wowed me with the way he became one with the drums.

I soon realized the only time I felt that light in my life was when I went to a j.wride concert. If you don't believe me, take one night to yourself and go to one of their concerts. Listen through one song. And if you aren't hooked..... Then there's something wrong with you. Every single person who has given them a chance, has liked their music. Even if they don't become super fans like me, they at least have a love for the music. And, for those of you who haven't been to a concert in a while... Let me say this. They were really really good before, but they are AMAZING now.

So why does it make me so happy? Again, I am flustered. Words can not adequately describe the joy I feel every time I step into a concert. Or every time I sit in a band practice. The way they play together, and the way they somehow touch my soul without even really trying... It's incredible.

Austin, Court, Jesse

If you haven't taken a listen before, do it now. Here on their bandpage. And let me know what you think.

So, words might not be my strong point. But if there is one thing I know, it's that these three boys are going to make it. Not just as Utah's newest and hottest band.. They are going to make it world wide. They've already started, and they aren't slowing down. Nothing is gonna stop these boys from setting your world on fire. Why else would I fly over 2,000 miles across the country for their CD release??...

- J

Jesse Wride, Austin Anderson, Me, Court Eccles