April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
SUBMISSIONS

CONTEST RUNNERS-UP

Only three winners could be chosen for The Evangelist's "What's on Your MP3 Player" contest, but so many teens submitted interesting song choices, some of the runners-up deserve notice.

ANNARAE FURLONG, 17, senior, Catholic Central High School, Troy; St. Mary's parish, Waterford

"Shake It Out" by Florence and the Machine really inspires my faith, especially when it's been shaken by my own thoughts. My regrets constantly take over my mind and make me question every single thing I have done wrong. I'm always dragging those negative thoughts around, because I can't seem to let them go. The truth is, I have "been a fool and I've been blind," and because of this, "regrets collect like old friends." It makes me feel disheartened, because there is nothing I want more than to change the past. Despite the sense of sadness that the song brings to the surface, it revives my faith in both myself and God. If God can forgive me for what I've done wrong, then I need to forgive myself, too. All I have to do is "shake it out" and get rid of my regrets. The past is supposed to stay in the past for a reason. By liberating myself from the hold my regrets have over me, I can finally shake the devil off my back and create a new, fresh start for myself.


MARY MCGUINNESS, 17, senior, Burnt Hills/Ballston Lake High School; Immaculate Conception parish, Glenville

"Happy" by Marina and the Diamonds may sound like a sad song at first, but it ends on a happy note (pun intended). Marina sings about feeling stressed out, lonely and restless, but her sadness melted away with the realization that she needs "a little company." This company is God, who's alluded to when she mentions singing a hymn and that she believes in divinity. My favorite lines are, "I believe in possibility; I believe someone's watching over me." Whenever I feel stressed out in school, have a bad day, have a bad cross-country race or just feel like everything's going wrong, this song is a great comfort to me.


DEANNA VANWAGENEN, 13, eighth-grader, Greenville Central Middle School; St. John the Baptist parish, Greenville

"God's Will" by Martina McBride makes me remember that I am what God wanted me to be. I am perfect to God. Everyone was created in God's image. People don't have to look the same; we all have feelings and some people might be a little smarter than others, but we are still all the same.


ZACH BRIMMER, 17, senior, Catholic Central High School, Troy; St. Jude the Apostle parish, Wynantskill

"Don't Blink" by Kenny Chesney has a great meaning. When I listen to it, I really look at my life and make sure I'm living it to the fullest, because there are many people who are just wasting every minute. Chesney says, "You're six years old; you take a nap and you wake up and you're 25 and your high-school sweetheart becomes your wife....Next thing you know, your better half of 50 years is there in bed and you're praying God takes you instead." We should pray for the people who have been best friends with a spouse and one of them goes to heaven. Once your time has come, you don't get any second chances. We shouldn't waste the time and breath God gave us.[[In-content Ad]]

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