Miley's Unintentional Gift: A Heartfelt Tribute for Mothers Everywhere
It seems like just yesterday, Miley gave us the Breakup Anthem of the Year with “Flowers.” To be fair, that was just last January. Now she’s bringing us new tears with her single “Used To Be Young,” but perhaps not for the reason she herself wrote the song for in the first place.
As a mom, I of course consume everything from that perspective now; but I would be shocked if others didn’t also perceive the song as an embodiment of their shift from person-to-parent.
Miley is most likely feeling those shifts of life that come with “middle age.” This comes with bodily changes as well as wisdom that not every experience is worth major risk (probably because we’ve already had the experience before, so why hurt ourselves again?) —but I would argue that no one feels that shift quite as keenly as someone who has had to turn their life upside down in the course of a year after welcoming a small human into their life.
Something I believe we all can relate to, regardless of parenthood or parentage, is the shift that many of us experienced post-covid. ESPECIALLY those of us “covid parents” who had babies during the lockdown period (or in my case, just before). As we naturally would have shifted to a quieter lifestyle due to age or life’s circumstances, EVERYONE had to make this same shift, and it was like we were all going through this change together. It made the transition easier, if even a little insidious. We realized that being home alone ain’t so bad, so long as we can text and video chat once in a while. Once the metaphorical and literal gates opened back up, many people ran to the streets and bars, traveled the country, and took risks that had been barred to them for several years. At that moment, to the rest of us it became clear—we have aged, we are not the same, we Used To Be Young.
Something I love about this song, and what I believe makes it an anthem and not a dirge, is that she is careful to maintain that pop-positivity we love Miley for—She is absolutely clear that the changes are beautiful and worth it, as well as the past. We don’t want to FORGET the past, even though it is somewhat painful not to be there anymore. The past has made us what we are, has shaped our wisdom through experiences, and now we are in this new space and mindset that is best for our life now.
Dirge or not, it’s okay to cry.
If you haven’t listened to this yet, please have a listen here…
Savannah Newton is a mother, artist at Wished Upon Studio, and project manager/solutions tech with The Collab Team.
She is a proud Dis-nerd and Harry Potter lover, and loves to over-analyze plot points and metaphors within children’s movies and content.
