We all moved together as one, swaying from left to right as Allen Stone crooned out blues, flipping his signature curls all around. The lights danced off of his body as he strutted around the stage, captivating and mesmerizing all of us in the audience.

Standing in the crowd, I looked to my right at my father to see how he would react. He had a burning passion for music and I was curious to see what he would think of this young blues singer. His eyes were squeezed shut and he was mouthing the words along with Allen Stone.

Well I’ve been through the hurricane

The wind and the blinded rain

Somehow I maintained

He felt me staring at him and his eyes fluttered open. Greens, a hint of blue, and ring of copper tones. I didn’t really want to have anything to do with him at that point, but I couldn’t help but notice his eyes were identical to mine. I have my father's eyes.

I could see through his eyes. Sadness, bitterness, sorrow, regret, and a little bit of anger. I could feel all of his emotions being transferred into my heart. It felt like a million pound load was just dropped onto my chest for me to carry around. That million pound load belonged to my father. And although I could see the storm of emotions silently raging on his face, he smiled down at me.

I said, get your act together

It’s really all up to you

Music was his escape. I could see that. It took all of his pain away. And in this small window that I could spend time with him, I decided to stop being mad at him. It wasn't his fault. He had his own struggles and though they directly affected me, I couldn’t deny to myself that the anger toward my father wasn’t going to help either of us.

Do not get close to the water if you do not wanna get wet

Cause the consequence of hate is just misery and regret



And I felt all of them weighing me down. It was like I couldn’t breathe anymore. I was having flashbacks of the past few months. Yelling and slamming doors. Spending the nights sitting alone in my room, with tears streaming down my face. And that’s when I realized that the only way I could lift this weight was to sway to the music with everyone else and try to forget.

Well I’ve been through the hurricane

The wind and the blinded rain

Somehow I maintained

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to see what he saw, trying to gain a new perspective, trying to let go of all of the anger and hurt that we were both feeling. Sometimes, in order to do that, you have to take the time to look through someone else’s eyes. You have to feel what they feel and try to relate because you never know what they’re going through. If you look into their eyes, you can try see the storm that is raging on and maybe then you’ll understand. That’s what the music is for.