7 Sara Bareilles Lyrics All Girls Need to Hear

If I could give all the women of the world one gift, I would package every Sara Bareilles CD with a nice bow and deliver it with the message of, "Do yourself a favor and never stop listening to every one of these songs." Sara Bareilles is her music. Her songs are real, leaving her loyal followers with anthems that feel like they were written personally for each of us. Every song is a piece of her life that she was brave enough to share.

Here are seven song lyrics from Sara Bareilles that every girl needs emblazoned into her heart:

1. Uncharted- "I won't go as a passenger no, waiting for the road to be laid. Though I may be going down, I'm taking flame over burning out."

In a world where too many of us willingly let others take the driver's seat in our lives, Sara refuses to give up that privilege. She'd rather crash and burn trying to be everything she aches to be rather than fading away as a passenger of her own life.

It's terrifying to step out and chase after the life you dream of, but the alternative is much more frightening. We can't be afraid of shining; we should be afraid of burning out.

2. Gonna Get Over You - "And I'm not the girl that I intend to be. I dare you, darling, just wait and see, but this time not for you but just for me."

I, like so many others, am guilty of doing or not doing something based on the opinions of others. I have changed myself too many times to fit the mold of what another person preferred me to be, but I failed to realize that when all is said and done, I am really the only person who is ever going to stick around.

Our lives are filled with so much potential and endless chances for greatness, but we must do it only for ourselves.

3. King of Anything- "All my life I've tried to make everybody happy while I hurt and hide, waiting for someone to tell me it's my turn to decide."

Do you know when you blare the radio at your favorite part because you feel that line had been written just for you? This is it for me. One short part of a song has never summed up my life more beautifully, albeit tragically, too, than this line. I have willingly placed my needs behind the wants of everyone else because I thought it was the right thing to do.

I've waited 28 years for permission to make the decisions that I know are in my own best interest, and it is both exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. Regardless, there is no other way.

4. Bluebird- "This pair of wings, worn and rusted, from too many years by my side. They can carry me, swear to be sturdy and strong, but turning them on still means goodbye."

I live a life in constant turmoil of wanting to fly, knowing that I can, and being afraid to do it because that means saying goodbye to the life I know and love. All my family and friends are right here, but my heart aches to follow what I was put here to do.

Saying goodbye to the life we know, a love, or anything else often leads us to changing our minds, but our wings were made to help us fly.

5. Little Black Dress- "You came, lifted me up, but then you dropped a hurricane. Now I am fighting to find the ground again, to steady my feet, get up off my knees and just remember that I am more than somebody's puppet. I can find the cord, and then I'll cut it. I stand a pretty good chance to dust myself off and dance."

Ahh, the ultimate break up song. There is nothing better than proving that you'll not only be fine but that you'll be better than before. This song isn't the sad ballad that centers around pining for a love lost. It's easy to succumb to the narrative that we can't live without the one who just left us, but as Sara Bareilles so beautifully sings, the hurt will only last as long as we refuse to get up and dance.

6. Beautiful Girl- "So before you trade in your summer skin for those high heeled shoes to make him want to be with you, let me remind you just maybe you're beautiful, but you just can't see. So why don't you trust me. They'll see it too, you beautiful girl you."

This is the song that needs to be played for girls every day of their lives. With the world telling them what's beautiful, what they should be, and how they should act, this song erases all of that. She croons the word "beautiful" so many times that it's almost impossible to keep it from sinking beneath your skin and letting it stay there.

7. She Used to Be Mine- "And you're not what I asked for. If I'm honest, I know I would give it all back for a chance to start over. Rewrite an ending or two for the girl that I knew."

Written for a musical she worked on, this song is less known, and that's a tragedy. It hits at the core of what so many of us have done: turned our backs on who we dream of becoming. We grew up wanting to be someone or something that moved us, but as life went on, we lost pieces of that young girl and became something that we can't even recognize.

This song knocked me to my knees when I first heard it, but I am not sure if I've ever appreciated one more. It's so real and raw that I was forced to look in the mirror and ask myself if I, too, lost the girl who used to be mine.