#and the pre order benefit things from the last got7 album

[ishikawayukis]

went out with a friend today and had no control whatsoever and bought a sf9 album

[wonderfullycrazyandweird]

[song/mv reflection*] jj project - 내일, 오늘 (tomorrow, today)

It’s been so long since I last visited this blog and I’m coming back to post this essay/review/reflection I wrote almost two years ago.

So here’s a little shout-out to that friend who pushed me to post this despite my hesitance and fear, this is for you and I hope we start with that one step towards our dream ♥

JJ PROJECT -  내일, 오늘 (Tomorrow, Today) 

(author’s side-note: It would be so much better if you watch the music video first and do not forget to turn on the English caption for better understanding of the lyrics. Enjoy ^^)

Okay, now that you’ve listened to the song and watched the video, let’s start the song analysis / reflection.

“A song you can relate to if you’re wandering in your youth.”

This statement was taken from a comment section in a post about JJ Project’s latest comeback song, Tomorrow, Today. The song 내일,오늘 (Tomorrow, Today) released last 31st of July 2017 is a mellow, pop rock alternative type of song which is very laid-back or what people may describe as “feel-good” song. The music video which showcases the simplicity and beauty of Hokkaido, Japan (where the MV was shot) also added an aesthetic appeal to the overall turnout of the song.

Watching the video for the first time, I was moved to tears not only because of the beauty of the video or the feels of seeing JJ Project, or what ahgases (fans of the duo and their main group GOT7) endearingly refer to as JJP, comeback after 5 years, but mainly because of the meaning of the song. The message of the song is what everyone can relate to. As a lot of ahgases would say, it is a song which speaks to them in a deeper level. This is what I have felt while listening to the song.

Delving into the common troubles of the youth, it is not just about being lost.

 The song ponders about our choices, figuring out life, and finding what we really want.

It gives us a glimpse of what is really happening in our world and what humans are facing.

Living in a world where everything is fast-paced, we are forced to choose, and in the process, a lot of time, we fail to consider some things, and forget the main reason why we are making those choices.

Here are some lines/verses in the song which really caught my eye and got me reflecting about a lot of things in my life:

“My visions and dreams are fading away”

“You keep pushing me while my eyes are half-covered. Telling me to pick which one to go with,

Somebody let me know, Tell me which way to go, Cause I don’t know

Today I hesitantly answer the questions again, That I don’t even know the answer to

Is it this way or that way?

My decisions are getting scary

With an unstable state of mind, I’m confronting the next decision

What will I be at the end of the road? Will I regret looking back later?”

As kids, we have those hopes and dreams we keep close to our heart, vowing to make them all come true when we become adults, but growing up, we realize, some of these dreams may be impossible to reach. We wake up to the reality of the world. How harsh the society we live in is. Our dreams either get crushed or forgotten. Forgotten because we often sacrifice to follow our dreams for practicality and comfort in life. You want to be a painter? A writer? A dancer? Society says no because according to its standards, you’re not gonna be successful. It’s not a high paying job. People will look down on you and take advantage of your gift/talent for free. Why not try to be a doctor or a lawyer instead? Oftentimes, we encounter these kinds of situation where our dreams are sacrificed and forgotten.

Today’s society is all about having your life figured out. Having your own identity. And because of this, we have to comply, and even though we are still struggling to find our purpose. We lose our identity because society keeps directing us to do this, do that. We become lost. Confused. We’re like those fallen leaves getting drifted by the wind. We go where the wind goes. We go with the flow, join the bandwagon. We lose ourselves because we become too overwhelmed with everything. In our lives, we always come at crossroads. This isn’t just a phase being experienced by the youth. No matter how old you are, 20s, 30s, or even in your later adult life, there are times when you just don’t know what to do. We become clueless. We don’t know what to do with our lives anymore. We know what we want but we don’t know if can achieve them. We have to quickly decide which path to take, what career to take, because if you take too much of your time, you get judged. And at these moments, we just say “f*ck it, I’m doing this,” even if we aren’t sure if will impact our future in a good or a bad way. We have to choose without thinking. We become reckless with our decisions. We have these thoughts plaguing our minds, if I choose this decision, will I regret this later on? There is uncertainty lingering inside us. And it becomes so big, we become suffocated. We feel anxious about ourselves. In this world where everyone aims for perfection, we are expected that the decisions we make are also perfect. We become so blindsided by it that we forget what we really want.  

Tomorrow, Today is a song which ponders on the reality of life and how the society operates. It is a song that speaks to everyone’s inner struggle. A song that makes you reflect your life. It makes you ask yourself, “Is this really what I want?” “Have I been living well?” and I commend JJ Project (and Park Jin Young) for penning and producing a song which speaks so much about life and the everyday struggles people go through.

P.S. 

Check out these very aesthetically-pleasing photos from the duo’s Photo Essay which was released as a pre-order benefit of the physical album. And the captions they added will also make you reflect on life.

Photo credits to JYP Entertainment.

Added translation to photos by @GOT7Jjai on twitter.