I remember being 16 and in high school. I was going through depression after my father’s death, and my boyfriend had left me. I heard the song 1979 on VH1, and it had a sound unlike anything I’d ever heard before. It was the rainy season, and I couldn’t stop listening to it. It stayed in my head so much that even now, 20 years later, 1979 is still my favorite song. Somehow, when I listen to it, my memories are nothing but good ones, despite those being the worst days of my life. The power of that song transformed the meaning of sadness for me.