Help me find the right words/quote...

From recent pop music, words from the Katy Perry song Firework might help. It sums up quite a bit on how a foster child mighbt be feeling, while at the same time offering a positive view of the roads ahead and of the young person themselves.

A specific quote which I have liked is 'Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined.' by Thoreau; although, that has more of a high school or college graduation tone to it.

Perhaps your son would have ideas, as he is in a similar age range if I recall correctly.

He suggested this quote and I even found a nice image:



I like it but have mixed feelings about it.

Oh!

I was thinking of a different Katy Perry song: "Brave"!

I found a lot of quotes like the Thoreau quote but for some of these kids I'll wager that their dreams are so far away that the idea might just seem insurmountable.

You're always worth it
And you deserve it

from The Weeknd - Earned It

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2HSHHf37eQ

there's a lot in K'naan's Wavin' Flag I like

"Wavin' Flag"

Give me freedom, give me fire, give me reason, take me higher
See the champions, take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud

In the streets our heads are lifting, as we lose our inhibition,
Celebration, it's around us, every nations, all around us

Singing forever young, singing songs underneath that sun
Let's rejoice in the beautiful game, and together at the end of the day.
We all say,

[Chorus:]
When I get older
I will be stronger
They'll call me 'Freedom'
Just like a wavin' flag
And then it goes back, and then it goes back
And then it goes back, and then it goes...

Born to a throne, stronger than Rome
But violent-prone, poor people zone,

But it's my home, all I have known,
Where I got grown, streets we would roam

Out of the darkness, I came the farthest
Among the hardest survival
Learn from these streets, it can be bleak,
Accept no defeat, surrender retreat

[Bridge:]
So we strugglin'
Fightin' to eat
And we wonderin'
When we'll be free
So we patiently wait
For that fateful day
It's not far away,
But for now we say:

[Chorus]

So many wars, settlin' scores,
Bringing us promises, leaving us poor,

I heard them say, love is the way
Love is the answer, that's what they say

But look how they treat us, make us believers
We fight their battles, then they deceive us

Try to control us, they couldn't hold us
'Cause we just move forward like Buffalo soldiers





(and now I'm in the rabbit hole with Shad)

I've never heard that song before and I really, really like it. Thanks for posting it. I'm going to parse those lyrics for a snippet to consider.

K'naan is a very special man.






Picture the morning taste and devour
We rise early pace up the hour
Streets is bustling hustling their heart out
You can't have the sweet with no sour
Spices herbs the sweet scent of flower
We came out precisely the hour
Clouds disappear the sun shows the power
No chance of a probable shower
I fell in love with my neighbors daughter
I wanted to protect and support her
Never mind I'm just 12 and a quarter
I had dreams beyond our border.
Is it true when they say all you need is just love,
Is it true
What about those who have loved
Only to find that it's taken away
And why do they say that the children have rights to be free
To be free
What about those who I've known
Whose memory still lives inside of me.
Fatima,
What did the Young Man say
Before he stole you away
On that fateful day Fatima
Fatima,
Did he know your name
Or the plans we made,
To go to New York City, Fatima
And after school we studied the lessons
I ask God to slow down the seconds
He does the opposite that's what I'm guessing
I better chill and count my own blessings
Fatima, Fatima what is the matter
How come you ain't come up the ladder
So we can be like there's no tomorrow
Damn you gonna make me wait until tomorrow
She spoke Arabic and Swahili
She'd say Upendo (Swahili for love)
Anta Habibi (Arabic for, you are my love, dearest friend)
You so bright, you shine like my TV
Then one day she never came to meet me
Is it true when they say all you need is just love,
Is it true
What about those who have loved
Only to find that it's taken away
And why do they say that the children have rights to be free
To be free
What about those who I've known
Whose memory still lives inside of me.
Fatima,
What did the Young Man say
Before he stole you away
On that fateful day Fatima
Fatima,
Did he know your name
Or the plans we made,
To go to New York City, Fatima [Repeats]
If beauty was in the eyes of beholder
How come everyone hushed when she walked by
How come girls would look just to scold her
How come the angel wanted to hold her?
Fatima, Fatima I'm in America
I make rhymes and I make them delicate
You would have liked the parks in Connecticut
You would have said I'm working too hard again.
Damn you shooter, Damn you the building
Whose walls hid the blood she was spilling
Damn you Country so good at killing
Damn you feeling, for persevering
Is it true when they say all you need is just love,
Is it true
What about those who have loved
Only to find that it's taken away
And why do they say that the children have rights to be free
To be free
What about those who I've known
Whose memory still lives inside of me.
Fatima,
What did the Gun Man Say
Before he took you away on that fateful day
Fatima
Did he know your name, or the plans we made
To go to New York City
Fatima
Now I just want to make it clear, I don't want you to shed a tear.
Because this here, is a celebration,
We're not mourning,
We're celebrating
Yeah
So baby don't cry,
Please don't let the tears fall
So don't cry


Songwriters: Keinan Warsame
Fatima lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Shad/Rose Garden video, lyrics (think the lyrics by someone else, not sure)

http://genius.com/Shad-rose-garden-lyrics
I had to look it up, hearing fuzzy these days


Rose Garden
Shad
Produced By DJ T Lo
Album TSOL

[Hook]
I didn't promise you a rose garden
Along with the sunshine
There's gonna be some rain sometimes
Watch out
I didn't promise you a rose garden (Yeah)
Along with the sunshine
There's gonna be some rain sometimes
Listen, ok

[Verse 1 : Shad]
When Abraham went to slash Issac
In a sense he baptized him
Rabbi said don't trust in cash prizes
Same things that float your boat can capsize it
Tell the snakes they can take a hike like gas prices
No such things as half-way crooks or half righteous, yeah
Those who have eyes should act like it
To help the sightless seeking the light switch
To see in the night with, we leading the lifeless
Sometimes I just wanna play some shows, make some dough
Take it home, lay in my bed, and stay in my safety zone
But Cee-Lo said it best
I know too much and I owe too much to let it rest
Heard a voice say hey
You never question when you get the blessings
So don't get vexed when your life is stressed
And I promised I'll be with you no matter what the issue
But there will be some issues to address
Listen to the lady in the dress

inRead invented by Teads
[Hook]

[Verse 2 : Shad]
Rain feels like this, check it
I'm not in the zone, there's too much in the way
I weigh two bucks and if I had two slugs to spray
Like raa raa, Glenn Beck better duck like foie gras
Make shots poke his face like Gaga
But mama says forgive, so I give him that bar like a Mars then let him live
The Mississauga continues, Brampton
While my DJ's lamping like Green Lantern, sampling
Mansions? Nah, I ain't rich as Richard Branson
I'm King Kong meets Vince Vaughn and I play like a champion
In my Monday ball league, nah B, all week
Seven days of black power naps every forty eight half hours
That's twenty four starring Jack Bauer
Can't cower when the rain falls
And it falls whether you're Gandhi or you're Adolf
Fall weather vendors always are way off
Make the call no rain delay
Play ball

ha! I just posted this on Facebook

Shad is fabulous in so many ways. Musician, debater, passionate citizen.

It's one of my favourites - partly because the video looks so much like our part of town. I used to think it had been filmed behind our vet clinic.

One of the things I put into the girl boxes was this super cute purse (I can't believe I found them for that price!) that I stuffed with shampoo/soap/thatkindofstuff. The purse says "Je suis belle".

Maybe I should just make a note that says "You are beautiful." or something like that.

Ya think?

Edit: Not that I don't appreciate all the suggestions. I just have a few lines to fill and I'm having a tough time condensing all this. I love the suggestions for my own selfish reasons -- all this new to me music!

I think it was our alley back in Venice. Well, not the exact alley, but close, as ours was a bit shorter. Same, same, same...

Funky Venice of our day (early seventies to late nineties) is no longer there, as google and other tech firms are there now and the longtimers are well priced out. I've a thread on Venice somewhere here. It shows up once in a while, oldies posting.

Yes, do!

I never heard of Shad, and have trouble re videos now, whether re sports writers or what.. and tend to need closed caption help, though I could hear the music, just not the wording, but Shad has a new fan. Also the bicyclists..

and I'll take any excuse to share some of my favourite music from people I like with people I like

howsabout some Terra Lightfoot



or maybe some Tami Neilson

Are those his lyrics? assuming so, he's terrific.

Yeah - Shad(rach Kabango) is the lyricist on that. He's a really articulate guy. I'd listened to his music and then went to Canada Reads tapings the year he won the debates.

if your computer lets you watch this, it's an interview with him from a few years back

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWkB61blJZg

(he's so dang cute)

lyrics again



Molly Johnson

Lucky

Feels sometimes like I'm just getting over
Then I lose my grip on my four leaf clover
And I catch a heel on a cobblestone
Feel a million miles away from home
But I'm loved. So Loved.

Ain't nobody gonna take me down
When I catch my breath I'll own this town
I wish everyone was as Lucky as I am

Walking in the rain
With my new stripped umbrella
Got my new boots on
Arm and Arm with my Fella
Don't need a lucky rabbits foot
Dyed a pretty pink
You'll always be here with me no matter swim or sink

Cause I'm loved. Loved.
Sunny skies are up ahead
I got Pots of Gold just round the bend
I wish everyone was as Lucky. As I Am.

Worries - Sure I Got 'Em
Somedays - Life is rotten but there's
No way - I hit the bottom
I see my baby smile
And I feel Lucky (Yes I Do!)

Horseshoes - well, you can have 'em
Leprechauns just get in the way of the garden
You can cross my fingers
Cross my toes
Cross my heart there's nothin' close
When you're loved
When you're loved

Leave it as a mystery
'cause you know I'm charmed as charmed can be
I wish everyone was Lucky
I wish everyone was Lucky
I wish the whole wide world was Lucky. As I am

Oh, good, (right up my alley). Probably depends on if it has CC but I'll give it a try. I'll look now, but even if it's fuzzy I'll watch to see if I can catch some stuff, manana. I noticed he's cute. That girl/woman wasn't bad either.

I started out not being very interested in Tami (er, old biases, I was around when rock around the clock was new) and then changing my mind. I don't know teens in Portland, Oregon as Boomerang does, to guess if she wouldn't appeal or if they'd love her. I ended up thinking she's super.