{"id":147,"date":"2019-11-05T11:49:18","date_gmt":"2019-11-05T16:49:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cfcc.edu\/storyforce\/?p=147"},"modified":"2023-12-15T13:49:31","modified_gmt":"2023-12-15T18:49:31","slug":"keep-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cfcc.edu\/storyforce\/keep-on\/","title":{"rendered":"Keep On"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sam Craig, United States Navy<\/em><\/p>\n

M<\/span>usic has always been a therapeutic companion that has seen me through life\u2019s highs and lows: A friend to celebrate achievements and express joyous exuberance, as well as a sympathetic ear through setbacks; and the true trials and tribulations that all of us face eventually. Although learning lessons the hard way has always been my subconsciously prescribed method of unofficial education, failure is the best teacher and artist of personal development.<\/p>\n

In any branch of the military, the running mantra, among others, is that anything unpleasant is the fodder from which we \u201cbuild character.\u201d In the moment, this is a joke. It means as much to each of us as \u201cHydrate!\u201d, \u201cChange your socks\u201d, or \u201cEmbrace the suck!\u201d However, in retrospect, the concept of facing a struggle, accepting the hardship, carrying the burden while still pushing forward, and coming out of the proverbial fire and shedding the burdensome situation is something to celebrate and can only appreciated after the fact.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve taken several years to write this song because I believe that I had to make it through so many setbacks, failures, personal disappointments and reach the ground past it to really appreciate not only the process; but understand how these experiences have shaped me as a person. I originally wrote a version of the chorus six months before I was medically separated. Luckily it was \u201ccatchy\u201d and stayed in the back of my mind and was tossed around and shaped a little more each time I sat down with my guitar and played it to myself. At the time I was facing an upheaval of my career and an unclear road which I was about to start down. At the same time, I was coming to terms with a failed marriage and rectifying personal failures in my own state of mind. Through writing this song, I found ways to keep reminding myself to appreciate where I\u2019ve been, be proud of the good things I\u2019d done, forgive myself for moments of weakness, and above all – keeping on through anything that comes at me.<\/p>\n

My biggest problem with writing a song this close to my heart and that touches on major aspects of the human condition that we all are quite familiar with, is to say what it means to reflect on struggling without falling down the slippery slope of being \u201ccheesy\u201d or overly clich\u00e9 in the words. I hope that I\u2019ve achieved this objective in a way that is meaningful and entertaining.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Keep On<\/h3>\n

I\u2019m going through hell, don\u2019t know if you can tell
\nBut I smile, shuffle along, feet don\u2019t fail me now come on
\nPull myself up and
\nKeep on keepin\u2019 on<\/p>\n

I\u2019m scared to death, I\u2019ll admit
\nI\u2019ve done some wrong, but I have no regrets
\nI\u2019m standing tall, and I\u2019m standing strong
\nWaiting for tomorrow, but it\u2019s taking so long<\/p>\n

And I know, there\u2019s more to life than this
\nAnd it\u2019s sealed up with a kiss
\nhanging on white knuckled grip
\nKeep your footing, don\u2019t slip<\/p>\n

Give me hope, give me faith
\nMake me believe it\u2019ll be okay
\ngive me strength, give me freedom
\nAll my blessings, make sure I can see them<\/p>\n

I\u2019m stuck here between heaven and hell
\nIn the middle, worth the trouble, I can never tell
\nI\u2019ve felt love, I\u2019ve seen hate
\nBuilt some bridges just to decimate
\nChanged directions with the same fate<\/p>\n

Here I sit with memories to forget
\nBeen to places I don\u2019t regret
\nI\u2019m stuck between heaven and hell
\nIn the middle, worth the trouble, I can never tell
\nStorms have come and gone
\nFought the battles, let bygones be forgone<\/p>\n

\n

\"Sam
\nSamuel Craig served in the United States Navy from 2006-2010. He was stationed aboard the USS Bataan (LHD-5) out of Norfolk, VA. He was a Machinist Mate Third Class Petty Officer (MM3) who worked in the \u201cAssault Shop\u201d as a Hydraulics Tech, operating and maintaining steam turbines and reduction gears used for ship propulsion and auxiliary machinery. Samuel was part of Operation Enduring Freedom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sam Craig, United States Navy Music has always been a therapeutic companion that has seen me through life\u2019s highs and lows: A friend to celebrate achievements and express joyous exuberance, as well as a sympathetic ear through setbacks; and the true trials and tribulations that all of us face eventually. Although learning lessons the hard […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_expiration-date-status":"","_expiration-date":0,"_expiration-date-type":"","_expiration-date-categories":[],"_expiration-date-options":[]},"categories":[330,332,328],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nKeep On - Storyforce<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Keep On - Sam Craig, United States Navy Music has always been a therapeutic companion that has seen me through\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cfcc.edu\/storyforce\/keep-on\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Keep On - Storyforce\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sam Craig, United States Navy Music has always been a therapeutic companion that has seen me through life\u2019s highs and lows: A friend to celebrate achievements and express joyous exuberance, as well as a sympathetic ear through setbacks; and the true trials and tribulations that all of us face eventually. 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