“You raise me up” is an incredible song written by Josh Groban, published in 2001. It was created to make the listener truly feel, grasp and believe in their inner spirituality and happiness. Josh Groban was raised observing the Episcopalian religion, a form of christianity and belief in god. The song “You raise me up” convey a strong theme in god and the message of power and strength through faith. The song effectively portrays Josh Groban’s expression of faith and also presents the influence of his Episcopalian religion in his lyrics.

I think this song can be interpreted in many different ways. For Josh Groban,  it is a religious song, with god praising him up whenever he feels down. However, for those with no religious belief, this could be a love song, with people you love raise you up and give you support whenever you need.

When I saw the topic for this week’s reflection paper, I asked my parents to help me out. My mom fell into deep thinking of her life. After several minutes, she looked up and said ” ‘You raise me up’—my favorite song, write about this please”. Without any explanations, I knew what she wanted to express through the song. She refers “You” as both her family and her dream.

My mom was born in a poor county in China that nobody even heard of. Her family lived on the farm for their entire life. As the oldest child in her family, she had the responsibility of taking care of her younger brother and sister. She also had to focus on her school work and help farming after school. Living in poverty and uneasiness, she never skipped any class or any homework. After graduating from middle school, her teacher visited her parents and told them that she’s the best in her class, her parents sighed “If she was a boy, we would think of ways, even sell our furnitures, to let her continue the education”. Back in time, people used to had the thought of gender inequality. My mom didn’t want her parents to be so exhausted every day. She got a job in the hospital and got married when she was 18. (Funny story– my mom’s middle school teacher is my dad’s mother. That’s how my parents met!)

My mom’s childhood experience encouraged her to work hard and let her family live on a better life. While she was working, she studied high school materials on her own and got admitted to a pretty good college away from home five years later. My earliest memory was to looked at her leaving and said “Mommy, study hard!”.  Instead of asking money from their parents like her classmates did, she sent her paycheck back home monthly. Years after years, she got her bachelor degree, master degree and doctor degree. She became a professor in a university. We also moved to a big city. In 2011, human resourse people in New York Blood Center saw her published paper and offered her a position as a postdoc. A year later, she brought me and my dad here.

Everything sounds so unbelievable. I cannot imagine how much effort she put into this incredible journey. However, through all these years of hard work and struggles, my mom always say that she’s thankful to her family that always support her in the back. I didn’t have chance to spend much time with my mom until I came to United States. But she’s always the No.1 person I admire in my life becasue she never gave up her dream, she let impossible things became possible. My mom told me that she’s the happiest woman in the world because my dad, me, and all the other relatives love her and support her for every step she takes. We are the inner power that helps her to overcome challeges in the way of chasing dream, and keeps her moving forward to more than she could see.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up to more than I can be.

 

Citation:

https://sites.google.com/site/joshgrobansite/analysis-1

http://www.secretgarden.no/lowband/facts_feel/secret_YRMU_history_01.html