How a Song by 30 Seconds to Mars Inspired Me to Better My Life

When I think back to the first moment that I ever heard my favorite band, I immediately contemplate how different my life would be if I hadn't been listening to my local radio station that morning. I nearly always listen to CD's in the car rather than the radio, so why did I do things differently that morning? If you are a believer in the statement that "all things happen for a reason", then I think you will appreciate this story completely. One of the local morning show radio hosts picks out 5 songs that he considers his top 5 downloads each week and then showcases them on his radio show. On one particular morning he introduced a song by a band called 30 Seconds To Mars, a band with a well-known actor as the lead singer. Before that morning I had no idea that actor Jared Leto had any singing experience, let alone fronted a band successfully. I listened more closely, more out of curiosity than anything to see if the world had finally come across an actor who could sing and successfully lead a rock band. I was immediately impressed by Jared Leto's vocals and the music itself. After that morning I knew that 30 Seconds To Mars was a band I would be checking into, but I had no idea how much they would impact my life.

Being a fan of music my entire life I always have immediate reactions to it. I know what I like and when I hear a new band that strikes me the way 30 Seconds To Mars did that morning, I make sure I learn all I can about them and their music. I looked them up on the internet, learned that Jared Leto was actually a musician first long before he got into acting and had formed 30 Seconds To Mars with his brother, Shannon Leto. I then started listening to any of their music I could find and realized that it wasn't only the song I had heard on the radio that I enjoyed, but every song I came across was so much more than enjoyable. They were inspirational and led me to some soul searching. One song in particular, 'The Fantasy', sparked something in me that has made a huge impact in my life. The lyrics have been interpreted in various ways to mean different things, but Jared himself has said that this song is about taking risks in your life, and being a dreamer who pursues and lives out his or her dreams despite any roadblocks the world or others might put in your path. That was a message that I sorely needed in my life at a time when struggle was all that I knew.

To understand why 'The Fantasy' by 30 Seconds To Mars was such a huge inspiration for me, I need to supply a little back story here. I am a 42-year-old mother of two who has spent the entirety of my adult life being ill. I have multiple health problems that have affected my life and continue to do so on a daily basis. When you spend every day of your life being sick, it can destroy your spirit completely and make even the simplest of tasks seem impossible to achieve. I think I reached a point where I just let my illnesses take over my life and completely gave up doing anything that made me happy. I don't even think I realized I had done this because the process had a life of its own after awhile. That changed when I stumbled upon 30 Seconds To Mars and then changed even further when I heard 'The Fantasy'. I had heard a recorded live version of the song where front man Jared Leto introduces the song with some very inspirational words of wisdom about following your dreams, being a risk taker and living out your fantasy in life. Something really hit home with me when I heard those words that day. It actually made me think about the dreams I used to have before I became ill, and I wondered why exactly I had given up on them. Why did being sick have to control my entire life and make me forget about the things that made me happy?

Two things that were always very important in my life were music and writing. I was a singer myself all through my school years and an avid writer with creative writing always being the class I couldn't wait to get to. I could also talk to people about music, lyrics and their meaning without ever getting bored on the subject. I always thought being a music journalist would be an amazing job to have. To be able to talk directly with artists about their music and their passion for it was something I had always dreamed of. Then, as it often does, life came along. I was married at age 20, working full-time, never finishing college and then had two wonderful children. Dreams and aspirations had to take a back seat to responsibility and family, and I have no regrets about that. My children are my life and being there for them as they've grown is the most important job I've ever had. But what was holding me back from doing the things I loved now that they were in their teens? My health had broken down more than my body; it had destroyed my ability to enjoy anything or to aspire to live a happier life. That all changed after hearing 30 Seconds To Mars when all my research into the band and their music led me back to my dream of music journalism.

Being a fan and supporter of 30 Seconds To Mars is an experience in itself. Their enormous fan base, The Echelon and Mars Army, spends much time and effort supporting the band and reading or watching every interview they can get their hands on. While I was trying to learn more about my new favorite artist I came across many interviews myself, some hysterically entertaining and others where I thought the interviewer could have done a much better job. I found myself thinking one day that if I ever had the chance to interview the band, I could do a much better job. That could have been a fleeting thought if I had let it be, but somehow I kept hearing Jared's words of inspiration playing in the back of my mind. Was I going to sit here and complain about some of these interviews and how they could have been better, or would I make them better myself? What would it take to get an interview? Suddenly, my mind was working and not focused on just being sick. I was thinking about actually doing something for a change. I never imagined that anything would inspire me to go beyond my depressing daily life and do something that made me happy. 'The Fantasy' by 30 Seconds To Mars did just that. I turned that one thought into research about how to contact the band's publicist and set up an interview, I got that interview, and a year and a half later I now run my own music magazine and have more than 70 interviews under my belt with top recording artists. When I think about how it all started, I am still amazed at how one song could make such a huge difference in my life.

Today, I am the editor/owner of Rock On Request Magazine. We are growing every day and reaching out to music fans worldwide who want to read and see interviews with their favorite artists; interviews that the artists themselves constantly compliment us on. That means more to me than they will ever know. My health has not improved since this all began, and in fact has declined. As a family we are now struggling with illness involving other members as well. It would be easy for me to give in to all of it, the way I used to. When I am feeling beaten and completely down about all of it, I think back to where I was less than two years ago when I had nothing at all to make me smile or feel good about. Thanks to 30 Seconds To Mars, I have found that no matter what obstacles there are in front of me, I can still find a way to be happy and succeed. I am living 'The Fantasy.'

Special thanks to: My husband, my children, 30 Seconds To Mars, Jared Leto, Shannon Leto, Tomo Milicevic, Matt Wachter, The Echelon, The Mars Army, and all the dreamers of the world.