i am strong for them.

i am strong for the ones who save up money to come and see us pour our hearts out on stage and to watch us follow our dreams.

i am strong for the ones who fly around the world to shake our hands.

i am strong for the ones who sing along to every word until their voices are gone.

i am strong for the ones who  take the time to make me colorful bracelets and who tie them around my wrist after shows.

i am strong for the ones who wait in line overnight to be in the front row so they can show their support.

i am strong for the ones who tweet me just to tell me they love me. (they’ll never know how many times they’ve turned my day around)

i am strong for the ones who get our words inked permanently into their skin because they believe in the power of song and hope.

i am strong for the ones that cry and hurt with us when we go through the downs or when others lose faith in us… because they never do.

i am strong for the ones who stay late after shows to get a picture taken with us or who ask for an autograph, and little do they know i am just as excited to take a picture with THEM.

i am strong for the ones who buy our music and our t-shirts when the economy is going through such a hard time and few people have money for necessities, let alone merch or albums.

i am strong for the ones who spend hours writing me letters. i read every single one.

i am strong for the ones who go on tumblr and post our lyrics or make funny gifs of me making obnoxious faces or me slipping onstage.

i am strong for the ones who wear our t-shirts to school even if people don’t know who our band is.

i am strong for the ones who believe in a few skinny guys from vegas who just love to make music.

i am strong for the ones who draw pictures of us whether they are artists are not. to us… they are all masterpieces.

i am strong for the fans who have stood by us from the beginning. since i had braces and was obsessed with tigger. (wait a second… i’m still obsessed with tigger)

i am strong for ones who drive around with their friends with the windows down, blasting our music and screaming along to it as they wreak havoc and probably piss off everyone around them outside.

i am strong for the ones who root for us and push for us even though we’re the underdog. 

i am strong for the ones who listen to our songs in their rooms, by themselves, surrounded by walls filled with posters of us and some of our best friends, just because it makes them feel good and allows them to be apart of something.

i am strong for the symphony soldiers around the world. some who we’ve met, some who we haven’t, and some who we soon will. 

sometimes it’s incredibly hard to be strong. but as long as i have you guys… i’m always going to find a way.

-alexander michael