you know what really hit me about thanks is that ,,, the instrumental really perfectly describes seventeen. they literally started from nothing. cheol was in the company when tempest was supposed to be a thing and jihoon just wanted to make music. hansol was the kid who was always different and he stopped school because he wanted to create instead of just being someone. seungkwan is a small town boy with big dreams. above all, soonyoung just wanted to dance. minghao was the kid who barely spoke korean when he started training. junhui was the kid with the set future, the one who was in one of china’s top schools and played piano and was excellent in every field he was in. wonwoo was quiet and silent and yet he did so much for the people he really cared about. mingyu was the pretty boy who everyone often thought wouldn’t amount to anything. seokmin was the main vocal who always got sidelined, the kid who just wanted to sing. jisoo moved from america and the only thing he had that reminded him of his life in america was probably the guitar he had, and he just wanted to sing. jeonghan was the picture perfect kid who dreamed with his eyes open and treasured his music above anything else and anyone else. chan was so damn young when he started training and he gave all the things normal kids have, like friends and free time, because he had a vision and a dream and he knew exactly where he wanted to be. the thirteen of them were always dreamers. they dreamed, they hoped, and most importantly, they followed through.
so think of seventeen who started from nothing. from the green practice room and the swinging guitar and the emo haircuts. from the constant delays and named t-shirts. from the pod-casts and lives. from 17 project. so think of the thirteen of them. seungcheol, the leader, doe eyed and always ready to help. jeonghan, the sharp-eyed, witty hyung who always knew what to say. jisoo, warm, smiling, careful, reserved (and once upon a time, homesick before he became) settled. junhui, music at his fingertips and love in his voice and a million untold stories in his eyes. soonyoung, who tells his stories with the way he closes his eyes when he dances, who tells his stories with his body and all of him. wonwoo, misunderstood, heart warm, every heartbeat dedicated to running and running behind who he wanted to be as a child. jihoon, music in the way he spoke, music in him when he did anything, who breathed music and thought about music all the time, who loved and treasured seventeen above everything else. minghao, going from struggling in korean to openly speaking what he wanted to, who is so shy and yet so much more, who smiles at everyone, who makes us smile. mingyu, tall, clumsy, handsome, but above all, who broke down all the barriers that stood between him and his dream, who bypassed all the criticism to become a role model for so many of us. seokmin, sunshine in his eyes, sunshine in his smile, sunshine in his voice, who always looked at us with so much fondness and love whenever he could, who always expressed himself so beautifully with his words. seungkwan, who never wants us to have a bad day, who always tells us to look after ourselves and loves us so wholeheartedly and fully and makes us laugh even if we don’t want to. hansol, the kid who grew up so much from his experiences, who is so quiet and so reserved and yet so wild and uncontrolled and so relatable, who writes music and just wanted to create. chan, who danced and danced as a kid, chan who probably never had a significant other, chan who’s first love was his music, chan who grew up so well, chan who loves and respects his twelve brothers so much.
the thanks they speak of in this song is heartfelt because it’s the most unrestrained kind of thanks. it’s the wild, desperate kind of thank you. it speaks so much and so little at the same time. thank you for staying, thank you for being here, thank you for listening, thank you for believing, thank you for always trusting us, thank you for yesterday and the day before and the very first day and tomorrow and the day after and the very last day. that’s what i hear when i shut my eyes and listen to the song. it’s a thank you that’s filled with so much that it echoes in the bass and the percussion and the vocals.
thank you. for everything. for the good times and the bad times. for the first time you won a music show and seungkwan started crying and couldn’t sing and the unit leaders started crying and junhui wiped jihoon’s tears. for the time you won artist of the year at the asian artists awards and you all were so pleased. for the time you saw your parents after a long time at 17 project and all of you were willing to show us how much you missed them. for one fine day and the chili paste prank and the chicken fight (and jeonghan’s hair in one fine day in japan) and the happiness you shared. for strength-coups and yoon-cheonsa. for soonyoung and seokmin’s comeback song. for bang-chan. for jeon wonwoo the bag of luck. for mingyu-sunbaenim. for “it’s gonna be lit, like these candles” and “if you don’t know who we are, please check us out”. for american line. for jisoo’s n-line poems. for minghao’s “if there is light in this world i hope it shines on you.” for my i. for highlight. for the performance unit. for the vocal unit. for the hip hop unit. for 13 + 3 + 1 = 17. for giving us so much to be happy for when some of us don’t have a reason to even be remotely happy sometimes.
turnnoffyourmind
dededos
kianamaiart
ellievsbear
titsay
blakekathryn
jbbartram-illu
snowghoul
yousharknotpass
annaxmalina
