By Low Win Li
Everyday is stressful for our generation. It’s hard to get a job, it’s harder to attend college now more than ever… we need to have policies that can facilitate overall social change.
BTS recently released their comeback trailer for “Intro: Persona”, in anticipation for their upcoming album (Map of the Soul: Persona) released on April 12th, 2019. Fans have flocked in support for the trailer, racking up 25 million views and counting on YouTube in less than 2 weeks.
In support of BTS and their message, fans on Twitter have been taking part in the #PersonaChallenge. The creator behind this trend is Twitter user @natskashi, aka 23-year-old Josh from New York. The aim behind this challenge is for users to post a photo comparing their current selves to their past selves back in 2013.
There were various types of responses for the #PersonaChallenge – some were meme-worthy, some appreciated the growth of BTS since their debut. However it was encouraging to see how a majority of users who participated in this challenge were looking back on their past selves and were appreciating how far they have come from where they were in 2013. This challenge inspired many users to talk about how they felt about themselves or towards their personal struggles back then, and how they have progressed in leaps and bounds since.
When band leader RM (aka Kim Namjoon) spoke on behalf of the band at the United Nations in 2018, he shared even his s mistakes and faults are part of the e person that he has become: “I have come to love myself for who I am, for who I was, and for who I hope to become.” In ending his speech, the bandleader further encouraged young people to find their name and find their voice.
The BTS-inspired #PersonaChallenge has encouraged candid conversations and reflections of self-growth. The comeback trailer showcased bandleader RM singing about dealing with life in the spotlight as well as his own personal journey to find out who he is – amidst what the world tries to tells him. Upon dissecting the lyrics, these are some parts of the song that stood out:
Who am I? The question I had my whole life
Who am I? The question which I probably won’t find an answer to my whole life
So I’m asking once again yeah
Who the hell am I?
Tell me all your names baby
Do you wanna die
Or do you wanna go
Do you wanna fly
Where’s your soul? Where’s your dream?
Do you think you’re alive
In addressing the title of their album ‘Map of The Soul’, the following lyrics were incorporated into the song as well:
Yeah maybe I have been deceiving myself
Maybe I’ve been lying
But I’m not embarrassed anymore as this is the map of my soul
‘Intro: Persona’ is not the first attempt of BTS in discussing mental health, or the broad spectrum of social issues for that matter. BTS has long made it a priority to inspire such conversations.
Another instance that sparked the need for such candid conversations of mental health and speaking ourselves was when SHINee’s Kim Jong-Hyun took his own life back in December 2017. In responding to the news, band member Suga (aka Min Yoon-gi) said, “I really want to say that everyone in the world is lonely and everyone is sad. If we know that everyone is suffering and lonely, I hope we can create an environment where we can ask for help, and say that things are hard when they’re hard, and say that we miss someone when we miss them.”
Suga himself has been candid on his own personal struggle with mental health, and uses their lyrics to encourage people not to feel alone in their struggles, that together, everyone can find a way through it.
If they [people who have the platform/celebrities] talk about it openly – if they talk about depression for example like it’s the common cold, then it becomes more and more accepted if it’s a common disorder like the cold. More and more, I think artists or celebrities who have a voice should talk about these problems and bring it up to the surface.
In Suga’s solo mixtape ‘Agust D’, he released a track called ‘The Last’. In this track, he referenced how he dealt with his own bout of depression, social anxiety, and self hatred. He also referenced his visit to the psychiatric ward, and how he had built his own walls to hide what he really felt.
All those words, those words are said to hide my weak self.
It was not only a candid self-reflection of his own personal journey, but it also takes fans through to how he has become better and embraced who he is now.
Likewise, RM shared his own tips on how he deals with his anxiety by constructing many ‘resting places’: whether it being collecting figurines, retail therapy, going to random places and seeing how people live. On RM’s mixtape ‘mono’, he released a song entitled ‘Forever Rain’. The tone of the album personally felt very calming, somewhat comforting in the midst of it. In this track, he candidly expresses how he wishes the rain would stay pouring forever to enable his tears to stay hidden. The way he’s described the rain is almost poetic: if we could learn to embrace and figure out our personal struggles and emotions.
My shadow’s reflected on the sky, I’m standing on the darkness.
BTS has not only made a name for themselves in their home country, but they have slowly taken over the globe through their stance to start loving ourselves and who we are. They have inspired fans across the globe to truly question the meaning of self-love, self-care, and truly speaking themselves.
Referring to the message of one of their comeback songs ‘Never Mind’, let us keep running through, no matter how thorny the road ahead may be.
BTS’ new album ‘Map of the Soul: Persona’ was released on April 12, 2019.
Header image taken from https://twitter.com/BigHitEnt/status/1113093737691852801
