Share a song that got you through a difficult time.

I remember hearing "My Life" by Mary J Blige while in San Francisco in the spring of 1995. My family and I were out getting food somewhere, might have been ice cream, and I remember the place had local station KMEL on. I recognized it as the station that housed The Wake Up Show with Sway & Tech, which came on in the late night hours and played the more underground hip-hop of the time.

Anyway, back to "My Life". I remember hearing this song and instantly being pulled in by it, not only by the Roy Ayers sample on it, but by the raw emotion from Mary. The song would become an anthem for me as I battled with depression in my teen years. I was homesick for Florida after the move to Nebraska. I was an out of place southern kid who couldn't see the similarities with the Midwest yet. I wanted my old life, my old friends, and my old routines. I became less spiritual in the mainstream sense, but still felt a sense of spirituality and this song tapped into that. The first verse really hit home for me:

Life can be only what you make it
When you're feeling down, you should never fake it
Say what's on your mind and you'll find in time
That all the negative energy, it will all decease
And you'll be at peace with yourself
You won't really need no one else
Except for the man up above
Because He'll give you love

This song reminded me to trust in God. It also reminded me I was not alone, that my struggle was by no means singular. Mary J. Blige got me through a lot.