Joel Birch Takes On Optimism

Joel Birch from The Amity Affliction

Can people learn to be more optimistic? Of course! Take a guy named Joel Birch for example. He is the lead singer of one of my all-time favorite bands, The Amity Affliction. He had a very dark past filled with depression, alcoholism, and even a suicide attempt. In an interview with Loudwire Magazine, Joel explained the meaning behind his song called “I hate Harley”. He starts off by talking about his suicide attempt in 2010 and what caused him to do it. Joel said “I was losing my grip on everything around me” (Loudwire), which lead him to his suicide attempt. After his experience in the hospital, he realized how selfish his actions were and how he would just leave his friends and family behind. He then says, “it took something that bad for me to turn my way of thinking around and seek help, and to really step back and take a look at everything that was going on and try to turn it into something positive” (Loudwire). At that moment, he knew he could not keep thinking negatively, that it would only make things worse. He had to change his mind set and try to be more optimistic and that is exactly what he did. In this song, there is a line that goes “on a life that's full of mistakes, but always searching for much more”. For me, this line means that we all make mistakes, it’s a part of life, but we need to learn from them and move on. One of the key steps in being optimistic is being able to leave the past in the past. Most pessimists will dwell on their pasts which makes living in the now not really worth it. Another line goes “I've got hope in my eyes, and dreams to aspire too”. This is also a powerful line that pessimists can learn from. Instead of thinking about all the bad things that MIGHT happen to you, start thinking about what you want in life, your dreams and goals, and then go out and make them a reality! Now, Joel is a part of a very successful band, has his own clothing line, and just recently got married. You might think that it is impossible to become optimistic after you have lived your whole life being a pessimist, but it is possible!

I Hate Hartley by The Amity Affliction

Read the interview here:

Joel's Full Interview