A Warning About Your Decisions

Bastille's song "Icarus" in their album Bad Blood confronts the great consequences of our decision making on our future. 

Your hands protect the flames from the wild winds around you
Icarus is flying too close to the sun
And Icarus' life has only just begun
And this how it feels to take a fall
Icarus is flying towards an early grave

Icarus is an allusion to a Greek myth where a boy buys wings from his father. clearly is walking on a thin line after making a decision when the song says he is 'flying to close to the sun'. His father warns him not to fly too close to the sun, or otherwise his wings will melt. Icarus did not heed the warning and fell to his death after his wings melted. Bastille uses this myth to illustrate the dangers of every decision. The writers plead with the listener to heed another's warning when it comes to making decisions.

Bastille's warning about the effect of every decision especially had an effect on me senior year. Deciding where to go to college is one of the biggest decisions I have had to make in my life thus far. Parents, teachers, family, college graduates, and friends are quick to give advice on making a decision about school. Every time I listen to this song, I am reminded how important it is to actually take their advice seriously, no matter how cheesy or inconceivable it sounds.

You put up your defenses when you leave
And you leave because you're certain of who you want to be
You're putting up your armour when you leave
And you leave because you're certain of who you want to be

Leaving home for school is a risk. Bastille says that when we leave our home, we put up our guard because we are meeting new people. However, we leave to become better people. By heeding Bastille's message in this song, hopefully we will listen to others and make the correct decisions to positively impact our lives.