3:06
- culture
- February 11, 2020
Rebecca Black reflects on life and 'Friday'
What she's learned since her video went viral and received some harsh feedback.
\"You are not defined by any one choice or thing. time heals and nothing is finite,\" she wrote. \"It’s a process that’s never too late to begin. And so, here we go!\"
Black told \"GMA\" that looking back on the past nine years, she wishes she could've been \"kinder\" to herself. \"And I wish could have had someone who told me that it was okay to be hopeful. I think that's something that a lot of us struggle with.\"
\"I see it all the time -- whether it be on Twitter or on Instagram or talking to a friend of mine or even listening to it my own head -- so many of us are constantly having things thrown at us every day, and nobody can really kind of shine a light and go, 'Hey, just remember there is always a chance there's always a moment to get up or to be forgiving with yourself.' I definitely didn't have that.\"
She added that she wishes she had been able to encourage herself more and tell herself, \"It's okay to mess up -- nobody gives you a guidebook on life.\"
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Rebecca Black (@msrebeccablack) on Feb 3, 2020 at 6:02pm PST
Black hopes that being so open about the hardships she's endured will help those \"if they're going through a similar thing, or the same thing in their own way.\"
\"They deserve to be able to relate and see that they're not alone,\" she told \"GMA.\"
\"Right now I have so many people on the Internet being supportive and encouraging,\" she said. \"I've been obviously on the other hand on the other end of that, and I think being just purely honest with my experiences has allowed people to reflect on ways that they've acted in the past or things that they said, and do it in a way that doesn't need to be shameful.\"
She admitted that with this reflection many likely have found that they've said or done things in years past that they regret.
\"I think it's okay to understand that maybe nine years ago you said something that you wouldn't say now -- and to acknowledge that growth is just enough in itself,\" Black explained.
\"I'm not here to make people feel bad about themselves. I'm here to hopefully help somebody else find peace, and hopefully with me sharing my experience, some kid or some adult or someone my age or whoever it is out there, can find a little bit of peace or feel a little bit less alone.\"
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Rebecca Black (@msrebeccablack) on Dec 5, 2019 at 5:30pm PST
She said that since posting the message, she's received many messages of support.
\"I am so grateful for everybody being so kind and for people saying things that I never thought I would ever be able to hear said to me on the Internet, in a positive way,\" she said. \"It's really shown me that like the Internet can be kind and not all humanity is lost.\"
\"We're in a place right now where there's just so much unbelievable heaviness and negativity,\" she added. \"And all I've wanted to do, and have been trying to do and what I'll continue to do, is spread a little bit of hope and show that just because what some people can deem to be the worst thing to ever happen to you, can happen, and you can still come back from that.\"
Black hasn't given up on her singing career after facing the negative feedback from \"Friday.\" In fact she says going through the ordeal has helped her to realize her passion even more.
\"Weirdly enough, through this entire 'Friday' thing I found a love for music and songwriting and an appreciation for it that I just never even imagined myself being able to have.\"
In October 2019, she released a new song \"Sweetheart\" and she says there is even a remix on the way.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Rebecca Black (@msrebeccablack) on Oct 22, 2019 at 5:15pm PDT
\"The one thing that has never let me down and throughout my entire life and journey has been there for me is music,\" she said. \"It has been there for me at my hardest times, and it's been there from the worst times. Whether it be people I love to listen to or really mainly writing my own music and learning to find my voice in that world, has just, I mean, it literally like saved my life.\"
\"I never stopped writing,\" she added. \"I'm still writing ... And I'll continue to write about my experiences and about things that are honest to me.\"
She also noted her most important takeaway from creating \"Friday\" and everything that came with it.
\"If there's one thing that this whole experience of going viral and having 'Friday' be what it was ... it's that I have experienced such extreme emotions. And turning that into something that hopefully will help someone else feel either more connected to who they are or relate to somebody else and feel a little bit less alone ... that's all I'm trying to do,\" she said.
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