There’s always been a negative connotation around crying—either you’re sad, depressed, or have broken a bone. While that is true in many instances, I am a firm believer that crying is healthy for you, and that everyone should do it.
Crying is proven to help you relieve stress, enhance your mood, and release toxins to relieve stress. In a way, you’re telling your body that everything is (eventually) going to be okay, and it’s good to get those emotions out now.
So far this year, things have been going quite well for me. I enjoy my classes, have good friends, and my family is all healthy. In my personal life, there is nothing that I really have to cry about; that’s where a few outside sources come in.
As a naturally emotional person, I will start to cry if I listen to or watch something heartfelt and emotional. Here are the songs, movies, and TV shows that I’ve cried so far this year.
Songs:
“Salt and the Sea” by Gregory Alan Iskov
I am an avid listener of my “Discover Playlist” and “Daylist,” playlists that Spotify will curate for you based on your music preferences. This song came on one morning, and I was absolutely hooked from the beginning. In the middle and end, there’s this beautiful banjo solo, which is where the tears came from. When I listened to it, it was like I could imagine all the happy moments flashing before my eyes like a montage. The song is also about two people who are disconnected from each other and one wants to find the other again, which is beautifully sad.
“Donna” by the Lumineers
Since the new year, I have been listening to a lot more folk-like music. Because of this, I started to explore more of the Lumineers discography, a band I always liked but never intentionally listened to. I discovered this song off of one of their albums, and it’s haunting in a way. It’s about a mother suffering from addiction, and has this piano solo that makes you feel like this character they’re singing about. It’s special and it’s sad at the same time.
“Consolations” by Tow’rs
This song came on while my cousin and I were going skiing. I managed to hold myself together while in the car, but I listened to it again later and let the tears fully flow. It’s a song about hope and forgiveness, with some great violin action. This is one of my friend’s favorite bands, so it was good to listen to more songs and fully appreciate them.
Movies:
All of Us Strangers
This movie has been on my radar since the very first trailers back last year, and I had been looking forward to it for a long time. When it came to the theaters in Boulder, I decided to go alone one night since I had nothing to do and no one to come with me.
I was probably crying throughout half of this movie. After it was over, I sulked back to my car and sat in it for another 15 minutes before feeling mentally ready to drive home. The movie is about a gay man who is able to visit his parents at the time they died, learning how to open up and start new relationships in his life. There’s just something about this movie that makes you feel so lonely, and it didn’t help that there were only three other people in the theater. The cinematography is exceptional, and Andrew gives the performance of a lifetime along with Paul Mescal. During the ending, you feel all the emotions with your entire body. It’s a fantastic film, but I’ll have to be more mentally more prepared next time if I decide to watch it again.
Arrival
This is one of my mom’s favorite movies of all time. I never watched it before since I wasn’t a huge sci-fi person, but I was excited when I learned that we would get to watch this movie for a film class that I was in.
This movie did more than just blow me away; it had me crying my eyes out at the final end scene. I was never expecting a sci-fi movie about aliens to be so poignant and powerful—it got me really thinking about my own life and how I was living it. In fact, I’m still thinking about that ending. It’s truly beautiful to be living the life we are; I know that even with just one watch, it’s definitely on my list of favorites.
TV shows:
Normal People
Out of all the things I cried to this month, this show absolutely destroyed me. I binge-watched it all in one sitting (six hours worth), and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. The show is based on a book by the same name by Sally Rooney; it follows two characters, Connell and Daisy, through their high school and college years, constantly weaving in and out of each other’s lives.
They’re two normal people (see what I did there?) who are desperately in love with each other but never know how to communicate. It’s heartbreaking and gorgeous and everything in between. The ending had me crying for much longer after the credits started rolling, knowing exactly the feeling of wanting to be with someone, but the circumstances were never right. It’s shot beautifully and the two actors, Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones, knock it out of the park.
Ted Lasso
I’ve seen Ted Lasso all the way through about three times, but I decided to start watching it again with my roommate—start to finish. Everytime I watch this show, it gets more special. I’ve forgotten how good a feel-good show is, as ironic as it sounds. Sometimes you just want to watch some boys play football where their biggest problems are a divorce, being gay, or managing their identity. The show is extremely funny and even more heartwarming, with plenty of cry-worthy scenes. I think it should be a requirement for everyone to watch this show.
What will you cry to next?
Maybe I’m just a little crazy by asking everyone to find something that makes you cry, but I do think that it genuinely helps someone keep in check their own emotions so they’re not taking it out on something else later.
As for me, I plan on going to see a few more movies before this year’s Oscars that I’m sure will get me tearing up, along with discovering new music as always.