Songs for the Girls who Can’t Wait to Feel Like Themselves Again

Do you ever feel like you’re stuck in the in between? Not like a ghosty in between, but more like you’re caught between hurting and healing, who you were and who you want to be. Cause I have, and when I drafted the introduction of this post a handful of months ago, I was there.

Back then, there was a moment when I was laying on my bed with my cat on my back, typing on my laptop with one song on repeat in my headphones. It’d been a good day, too. I’d just finished watching King The Land, and I was contemplating rewatching Rain or Shine. But, despite it all, the past wasn’t going away as fast I’d hoped.

I’m not going to spill my entire personal life on here, but I will say this: If you’re stuck in a weird in between, you’re not alone. I know what it’s like to wonder what it’ll be like to feel like yourself again after a spell of mingling with the wrong crowd. I know what it’s like to wind down for the day and realize that you feel a little better but still not really healed.

So, I wanted to offer some song recommendations today to anyone feeling that way. These are the songs that helped me in that season, and the ones that still walk with me through my dark moments as I continue healing.

If you glean nothing else from this post, I hope it’s that I see you. That I know you. That I’ve been you, and in many ways, I am still you.

You are not alone, my dear voyager. There are brighter days coming.

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Me Again by Sasha Alex Sloan

Feels like I’ll never
But I’ll get better
Might take forever
But I’ll get better

This has been my go-to song when I don’t feel like myself. The lyrics are incredibly relatable, and I’ll never forget the first time I heard this song. I was art journaling at my desk in my bedroom because I needed a break from reality. I’d just gone through a really painful friend breakup, and I needed a space that day to just breathe.

I had no idea that playing Sasha Alex Sloan’s latest album would become a healing experience.

I highly recommend the whole album, but specifically this song. It feels like a hug when you don’t even know what you need, and a star shining in the distance reminding you that there’s still light in the world.

Making the Bed by Olivia Rodrigo

I’m so tired of bein’ the girl that I am
Every good thing has turned into something I dread
And I’m playin’ the victim so well in my head
But it’s me who’s been making the bed

I’ve never been a huge Olivia Rodrigo fan (I think she swears too much), but . . . this song is a masterpiece. The melody and the instrumental is so hauntingly beautiful, and the lyrics have wrapped around me so many times. This has become a go-to song for when I’m driving home from work, and I’ve been listening to it a lot right now.

I think this song is also great because it doesn’t encourage you to slip into a victim mode. It’s so comforting, but if you listen to the lyrics, you have to face that you get to make choices, too. So, I like that it strikes that delicate balance between comfort and accountability while also not necessarily having a perfect answer to any of your problems because that makes me realize that I’m not the only person going through these things. None of us have a perfect answer. We’re all living for the first time and doing the best that we can . . . and that’s okay.

Daylight by BIG Naughty

No matter what you do, my friend
You know the world still needs your light
너의 색으로 가득할 sky
수많은 밤의 눈물도, 애써 감추던 마음들도
Let it just shine, you’ll be free
From all the things you used to be

Most of this song is in Korean, but I love it. It plays during the intro for the kdrama, Doona, and even though I’ve watched several more kdramas since then, this one is still my favorite intro. His voice has a very specific tonality to it that feels like he’s singing just to me. Not to the whole world or a stadium full of people—just to me.

There’s a closeness in this song that I don’t always see in music. It feels very personal and just overall incredibly comforting.

Call Your Mom by Noah Kahan (ft. Lizzie McAlpine)

Medicate, meditate, swear your soul to Jesus
Throw a punch, fall in love, give yourself a reason
Don’t wanna drive another mile wonderin’ if you’re breathin’
So, won’t you stay, won’t you stay, won’t you stay with me?

I found this song because Grace mentioned it in one of her Tuesday Letters last year. She unpacked why it was so special to her, and when I first listened to it, I think I was just stunned by how relatable it was. I’ve never been suicidal, but this song is for all of the girls who are fighting to stay alive and just don’t know what to cling to anymore.

A lot of the songs on this list feel like a hug, but this one feels like someone whispering to me that life is worth staying alive for. It may not feel like it right now, but there’s so much life left for you, my friend. For me. For all of us. So, don’t let this darkness fool you, okay?

Where Do We Go Now? by Gracie Abrams

Got a lot to cry about
There’s nothin’ left here
All our best years are behind
What a brutal way to die
But you choose it every time

If you need to cry, I highly recommend just playing any Gracie Abrams song. This is one of my favorites from her Good Riddance album, and I love the beat underneath the melody that drives the song forward. It’s a relatively upbeat song, but the lyrics are really sad, which always made it a go-to for me.

I also think this is just a great song for anyone who feels stuck in some sort of limbo. Maybe the relationship just kind of died without any resolution? Maybe you messed up and now you don’t know how to fix it? Whatever kind of in between you’re facing, this is a good song to play on repeat while you process.

High School Me by Sasha Alex Sloan

I won’t say it all gets better
But fifteen doesn’t last forever
If high school me could see me now
I bet high school me would be so proud

I’ve always loved this song, but something about her singing to me that fifteen doesn’t last forever has been so comforting in this season of my life. I’m not fifteen anymore, but I feel like this song can also be applied to twenty-one or thirty-five or the interim job that you hate or the college class that you don’t know how your gonna pass or the season right after your first breakup or the year of mostly bad that you’ve had with your spouse or the string of nights when you don’t know why you’re still alive anymore.

To me, “fifteen” has always been a metaphor for whatever I’m struggling with right now because—outside of Jesus—nothing lasts forever. This pain won’t always bleed so profusely. This grief won’t always drown you like it’s the very first night. This anger will dissipate one day. This sadness won’t win in the end.

Your “fifteen” won’t last forever, and that’s brought me a lot of peace.

The Manuscript by Taylor Swift

And the tears fell
In synchronicity with the score
And at last
She knew what the agony had been for

I can’t relate to 90% of the song, but those last lines of the bridge get me every time. It’s a simple song made entirely of verses (there’s no repeating chorus), and while the story she tells may not be relatable to you, I think a lot of the feelings are. Things like dating someone and it ending badly. Not knowing what to do after someone you love exits your life. Trying to make sense of the pain because you don’t know what else to do.

When I was going through my friendship breakup, The Tortured Poets Department had just recently been released. And the words I clung to was that one day I would know what it was all for. That one day, things would be better—would feel better. That, even if I never knew exactly why it happened, I would be able to look back and know that God worked everything according to His goodness and His plan for my life.

He’s still writing your story, too. He hasn’t abandoned you, and He never will. He is going to make all things right in His time. So, lean on Him. Trust the promises that you know are true.

You’re gonna be okay, my voyager.

I promise.

For more songs, check out my playlist

Let’s Talk!

Are you in an in-between season of waiting? How can I be praying for you in this season of life? What’s one beautiful thing that happened today or this week? Let’s talk all things life in the comments down below!