Vienna

Whenever I hear the song "Vienna" by Billy Joel, I feel like the song was written for me. (Here's the song:

Every line, phrase, or verse relates to my life in one way or the other. Let me explain:

Slow down you crazy child
You're so ambitious for a juvenile
But then if you're so smart tell me why
You are still so afraid?

I feel as if this verse is saying, "Anna, you're a very ambitious girl, which is not a bad thing, but you need to calm it down. You're squandering away your childhood." People tell me I'm smart all the time, so why am I so afraid of failure and not reaching my goals? Surely, whether it's what I want or not, some kind of good lies ahead.

Where's the fire, what's the hurry about?
You better cool it off before you burn it out.
You got so much to do and only
So many hours in a day.

Once again, why am I focusing all of my energy on my work? I need to take some time to refocus some of my energy on relaxing before I completely burn out. I have a lot to do, and I feel that time is running out, so I need to do it all right now....but I really need to calm down and take a breather.

But you know that when the truth is told,
That you can get what you want
Or you can just get old.
You're gonna kick off before you even get halfway through.
When will you realize
Vienna waits for you?

Slow down you're doing fine.
You can't be everything you want to be
Before your time.
Although it's so romantic on the borderline tonight.
Too bad but it's the life you lead.
You're so ahead of yourself
That you forgot what you need.
Though you can see when you're wrong,
you know you can't always see when you're right.

Here, I feel as if I'm being told that I want a lot of things--possibly too many. I'm working on reaching my goals for the future too soon, and I "can't be everything I want to be before my time." I focus everything on the things I want, and forget what I need. I beat myself up when I don't reach a goal, even though I sometimes set my own goals a little too high.

You got your passion you got your pride,
But don't you know only fools are satisfied?
Dream on, but don't imagine they'll all come true.
When will you realize
Vienna waits for you?

I have passion, I have pride, but I need to realize that the only people who are ever really satisfied are fools. In short, no one is ever really 100% satisfied with their landing spot, but I need to make the most of it. "Dream on, but don't imagine they'll all come true." This line says reach for the stars, but don't think that you can reach every one before you run out of time. Do what you can, but don't reprimand yourself for failing to do the impossible.

Slow down you crazy child!
Take the phone off the hook
And disappeaar for a while.
It's alright, you can afford to lose a day or two.
When will you realize
Vienna waits for you?

This final verse tells me to just stop for a few days. Give yourself a break and don't feel lazy because of it. Everyone needs "me time" at some point. Even if that "me time" means going somewhere and telling no one where and completely distancing yourself from your life, it needs to be done.

So what is Vienna? It could be anything. It just depends on the person. Vienna could be, for me, self-acceptance. It could be happiness or serenity; peace and quiet. For workaholics, it could be that promotion they're working so hard for. For singles, it could be their significant other. For parents, the satisfaction of their child's happiness. I leave you with this question: Who, what, or where is your Vienna and when will you realize that it's waiting for you?