I didn't use to have a favorite Disney song, but Disney has outdone itself with this one in my book.
The whole movie is amazing but, the song "Surface pressure" is at a higher level.
Written by Lin Manuel Miranda and in Jessica Darrow's voice, the song describes perfectly my feelings having to be the "emotional support" of everyone in the family, besides doing all the housework, and working a full-time job.
Luisa is a 19 Years old, middle child in a family of magically gifted members, her gift is, as the images show, super strength that's used in town to do all the hard work, she moves buildings, gathers animals and keeps things together if needed, she is supposed to be the strong indestructible one, but, when the magic starts to weaken, she is the first one to show signs as her strength is immediately affected, and, as her little sister starts questioning her about her gift, the song starts, and it's epic!
Miranda wrote "Surface Pressure" as a "love letter and apology" to his older sister, who had to deal with a lot of the same pressures Luisa faces.
Throughout the clip of the song we can see how Luisa feels about all the responsibilities she has and how she'd like to have a bit of time of relaxation for herself instead of being constantly worried about the expectations everyone has on her and her duty, those are the things she'd like to juggle but the scale always seems to weigh in more the responsibilities over her pleasure.
What's incredible to me about this song is the accuracy when comparing the real-life responsibilities many of us have, and that sometimes, those responsibilities are imposed instead of taken willingly, for example, I assume 100% of the responsibilities that come with having kids and a family, I know I must see for them, keep them warm, well-fed and in a clean and safe environment, asides from all the love I give them, but, I also have to do some things I never agreed to in first place, maybe some favors I did once and became an obligation. Yo some of us, saying NO is a big issue.
I've read somewhere that Luisa's weakness is being self-conscious of her self worth and feeling insignificant if she cannot contribute, that is the same feeling of a mom trying to do everything and if she can't, (cause she's human) she feels like a failure. The way we want everyone else to perceive us is in big part what makes us overreach and at times try to do more that's humanly possible.
I don't ask how hard the work is
Got a rough indestructible surface
Diamonds and platinum, I find 'em, I flatten'em
I take what I'm handed, I break what's demanding
But
We are not asked if we can, we are just expected to do, no matter at what cost, usually our time for ourselves and a bit of our mental health
Under the surface
I feel berserk as a tightrope walker in a three-ring circus
Under the surface
Was Hercules ever like "Yo, I don't wanna fight Cerberus?"
Under the surface
I'm pretty sure I'm worthless if I can't be of service
Self-doubt can make us question if the things we are doing are the things we want to be doing, especially for those cases of imposed responsibilities we are not always in the best mood for doing.
A flaw or a crack
The straw in the stack
That breaks the camel's back
What breaks the camel's back it's.
Many times there are little triggers that make a perfectly centered person lose the calm and blow up like a balloon, it's not a nice explosion because it usually happens after a long period of accumulating frustrations.
Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that'll never stop, whoa
Pressure that'll tip, tip, tip 'till you just go pop, whoa
Give it to your sister, your sister's older
Give her all the heavy things we can't shoulder
Who am I if I can't run with the ball?
If I fall to
Pressure like a grip, grip, grip and it won't let go, whoa
Pressure like a tick, tick, tick 'til it's ready to blow, whoa
Give it to your sister, your sister's stronger
See if she can hang on a little longer
Who am I if I can't carry it all?
If I falter
The chorus of the song, apart from being catchy as every other song in the soundtrack, is like the description perfect to the T of when we accumulate and accumulate things to do, over feelings, over expectations, and fears, we become into time bombs that are just waiting for the last drop to explode, and the doubt and the shame of not being "good" enough is like a spark that lights it all up
Under the surface
I hide my nerves, and it worsens, I worry something is gonna hurt us
Under the surface
The ship doesn't swerve as it heard how big the iceberg is
Under the surface
I think about my purpose, can I somehow preserve this?
Line up the dominoes
A light wind blows
You try to stop it tumbling
But on and on it goes
This talks much about being the pillar that holds everything in place, so if that pillar weakens, everything falls but we should not be afraid of not being good enough, of not being able to meet everyone's needs, including ourselves, even those are the first ones to take a back seat
But wait
If I could shake the crushing weight of expectations
Would that free some room up for joy
Or relaxation, or simple pleasure?
Instead we measure this growing pressure
Keeps growing, keep going
'Cause all we know is...
I feel that's all we need, and all we want from time to time, not being the only supporter of a group, whether is family or friends or co-workers, a moment to sit back, organize the following steps and not feel the pressure of what we are supposed to do. In a world where everything moves so fast, is always a good plan to stop, take a deep breath to collect strength to keep going, cause in the end, we know our worth and we know that we are an important part of a whole. And also, is very important to take responsibility in saying things at the right time and not accumulate until is too late to take back.
As the chorus repeats, changing only one sentence, that, to me, was the one that touched me deeper and the phrase that makes me relate so much to the song:
Give it to your sister, it doesn't hurt.
And see if she can handle every family burden
Carrying every family burden... that's how I feel at this particular time, I'm carrying things I shouldn't be carrying, at least not alone. It's a very complex situation cause when it comes to certain people in my family group, I'm mainly the only one they have, and that's unfair cause it leaves me no space to refuse, even if sometimes it costs me a lot, of time, of self peace and a lot of room to accumulate, I don't want to blow up cause I know some feelings could get hurt, well, others besides of mine, but those are being overlooked by this people, as always, and I just don't have the heart to do the same...
I appreciate anyone taking the time to read this little vent, it's something I needed and found this community and thought, why not? It'll be my first post here, I'll be more present from now on, cause it's really important to stay in touch with our feelings and emotions!
