"If Everyone Cared" by Nickelback

I say I hate her. I say I want to kill her. All these things I say and most likely mean at the time. However, no temporary situation can squelch the love in my heart for all with whom I relate. If I get to know someone, regardless of the means through which I do it, I always end up seeing inside them. I always end up relating to their emotions and feeling them through my own lens. After I have done this, I cannot help but love the admirable side of them and downplay the other dimensions.

Her in the most recent case is a girl named Elsie. We met because she was into Jacob and I was feeling, as usual, quite territorial. It's been a rocky road since our meeting. She and I would pretend above all else to love each other but the unspoken rivalry between us and her questionable treatment of my friends often made this act difficult to pull off. However, the truth is, I like her. As I've seen in many cases, it is very hard to dislike a fellow musician, even if she is attempting to steal the partial love of your life. Musicians are all formed from a similar passion that links us inevitably together.

The more complex forgiveness that I have repeatedly undergone is more deeply rooted in my psyche. My friends both marvel and criticize my ability to completely atone those who have done me wrong. Those who heard me cry and curse over Edward now wonder why I bashfully tear at the thought of his and my future reunion. Perhaps this aren't so hard to fathom. Edward we all know is hardly a bad person and time can heal the scars of awkward misunderstandings caused by immaturity.

What people tend less to understand is my perpetual willingness to see Jacob for more than his flaws, looking past his harsh and insecure denial to focus merely on the truth. How and why do I do this? I'm not quite sure. At first I thought it was my desire to control him. Then I thought it was merely the fact that he is unforgettably attractive to me. But neither seems to be the cause. I honestly feel that my continual forgiveness of Jacob comes from the fact that I understand him. I can look beyond his treatment of me to see him as an insecure and growing person who I refuse to believe cannot change. I do not know where I gained the heart and maturity to do this. All I know is that forgiveness gives me a flexible power that instead of demeaning me as others might say, gives me confidence. It allows me to view everyone as a work in progress instead of drawing a somewhat arbitrary and final line between assholes and angels. It allows me to fully believe in the potential existence of a world where "everyone cared."

Lyrics to "If Everyone Cared":
From underneath the trees, we watch the sky
Confusing stars for satellites
I never dreamed that you'd be mine
But here we are, we're here tonight

Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive

[Chorus:]
If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died

And I'm singing

Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive
Amen I, Amen I, Amen I, I'm alive

And in the air the fireflies
Our only light in paradise
We'll show the world they were wrong
And teach them all to sing along

Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
Singing Amen, I, I'm alive
(I'm alive)

Link to Music Video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOwJSpt2m_w

[Chorus x2]

And as we lie beneath the stars
We realize how small we are
If they could love like you and me
Imagine what the world could be

If everyone cared and nobody cried
If everyone loved and nobody lied
If everyone shared and swallowed their pride
Then we'd see the day when nobody died
When nobody died...

[Chorus]

We'd see the day, we'd see the day
When nobody died
We'd see the day, we'd see the day
When nobody died
We'd see the day when nobody died