I first heard the words
to this song while listening to the first Mariah Carey album I ever owned, Rainbow. I was about 12 and a lot was happening in my life. The
words and the music made this song one of my all time favorites. I was not
bullied or anything, but I was very insecure. This song helped me to keep my
head up and always believe in myself. They also helped me to keep my dreams
alive no matter what. The opening lyrics - “They can say anything they want to
say, try to bring me down, but I will not allow anyone to succeed hanging
clouds over me” – are so powerful. These words say; “let them talk, they are
going to, but don’t listen, don’t let words from others cause you to ever feel
like you are less than you ought to be.” That is what they say to me. Further
down in the chorus, it says that the world might “try, but they can’t take that
away from me”. I just love this song. I always return to it in good times and
especially in difficult episodes of my life. It is amazing how powerful the
words of a song can be and this song is just timeless. It has been with me for
about fourteen years now and it never gets old. It is very important to
remember that your adversaries are only as strong as you allow them to be and
to try hard to keep them out of your head. It is a beautiful song and I will
always cherish it.
