Do It Alone

A rather popular artist Kid Cudi has had influence on modern day teens from every type of house in America and around the globe. He is popular because he is talented and is different from the usual hip hop artist. He thrives off of being different and having different views from other rappers. He seems to think he is some rap god lately, even though his music has gone downhill since his first album in my opinion. One of his older mixtapes is called Kid Cudi: Demo Tape and contains some old music that didn't quite make it to his albums. Cudi quit smoking marijuana in the past year, but most of his music prior to him quitting was revolved around smoking dope and not caring what others think - songs like "Marijuana", "I Do My Thing", "Rollin'", "Call Me Moon Man", and "Maui Wowie" all express his love for weed. But one song off of Kid Cudi: Demo Tape called "Do It Alone" really embraces how different he views himself from the world.

If you know Kid Cudi, he calls himself things like "Moon Man" or "Man on the Moon", which has a double meaning. It refers to him being high most of the time (high as the sky, or in his case up to the moon), and how he views himself as an alien. No one understands him. The song "Do It Alone" really embraces this. It starts out with some high pitched outer space-like sounds. Then the music comes in slowly and you can tell pretty quickly that it is a sad song. His lyrics tell the story of him being afraid to go into the real world because he fears he won't be accepted - that no one will understand. He says "Man, I'm so comfortable here. Why should I head to a place where people live in fear?" and "But see, I'll never get why the earth is a puzzle that I'll never fit. I'm not of their world. So why should I leave my sanctuary? The whole thought of that is scary. How do I know that their kind will truly hear me out? Will they understand I'm flying from a different route?"

Although Kid Cudi does not affiliate himself with any religion, we can see by these lyrics that he is scared of being different from the real world, much like many of us are afraid of being different from the Empire. I think many of us, especially those of us that grew up in a very Christian town or went to a private Christian school, are scared to go outside of our bubble and take on the Empire. Kid Cudi describes his frustration by saying the earth is a puzzle and he'll never fit because he's not of their world. He doesn't want to leave his sanctuary - where he is comfortable. But I think to find a real glimpse of the Kingdom, we need to fight against the Empire. I have wanted to run away from these problems that cause so much anxiety in me, but I know to become stronger in my faith, I need to fight. And I believe God will give me glimpses of the Kingdom when I do this. Luckily, unlike Cudi, I don't feel like I have to do this alone. We have brothers and sisters in Christ to walk with.

Questions:

When have you felt that you are alone in this world and no one understands? Was it faith related?

Have you ever tried to run away when you feel like you're alone in this world? What has the outcome been of running?