This year artists in pop culture want purpose in life more than ever before. During the fall Justin Bieber released his album "Purpose" with many great songs that have depth to them. My favorite song on his album is "Life is worth living" which has such a positive message. When I was in high school 15 years ago the song "Join me in death" by the rock band HIM was number one on the charts. I'm happy to notice that we seem to be entering a new era today with positive and uplifting lyrics in pop culture rather than songs about death. I have a good friend who is a social worker who tells me that mental health issues and the number of teens who are having suicidal thoughts is only rising today, so although "art is only art" I feel encouraged by the fact that popular artists are wanting to spread positive messages in 2016.
A few days ago it was Beyonce's turn to release a new album which is called "Lemonade". The album is very transparent and uplifting if you ask me. Beyonce could have chosen to write her new album about anything, but she chose to write about how she overcame a very painful experience in her life, that takes real strength and courage. I love what Beyonce says in the May 2016 issue of ELLE UK:"I hope I can create art that helps people heal."
There are many things in our modern culture that can weigh people down; mental health issues, stress, low self-esteem and then there is the beauty ideals. Cameron Diaz is one actress that has decided to take on these negative ideals and inspire everyone to love themselves rather than to try to follow the impossible beauty ideals. I love what Cameron Diaz says in the May 2016 issue of Women's Health UK: "We live in a self-obsessed, narcissistic society that's focused on the superficial, instead of what's on the inside- and that is our soul and our spirit and what we accomplish. If all we concentrate on is what we see in the mirror, that is very dangerous. We're going to be very lost."
Whether we we are celebrities or regular people doesn't matter so much, we all carry the responsibility to set an example in life for the next generation. We don't get to choose if we will impact young people or not, we all influence them in one way or another, but we get to choose how we want to impact them. A big part of how how we learn to live life we learn from the culture that surrounds us, so each one of us should decide what we want to teach those who are younger than us.
One of the things that I'm the most thankful for in my life is the free university education that I got in Finland. My free education is a gift I received because the generations before me decided to create that law and opportunity for the next generations. In the end our personal accomplishments doesn't matter so much, what matters much more is what we leave behind for the next generations. What do you want to leave behind?
