Humility, anonymity, and isolation highlight the obedient daydreamer’s CIAB. It begins with Emily Dickinson. Poem read by the teen:

I’m Nobody! Who are you?

Are you – Nobody – too?

Then there’s a pair of us!

Don’t tell! They’d advertise – you know! How dreary – to be somebody!

How public – like a Frog – To tell one’s name –

the livelong June –

To an admiring Bog!

As the poem ends, a home recording of the teen practicing

A classical piano piece is played. You can hear the teen’s younger sibling and other noises in the background. The music is slow, soft, and sweet.

Piano playing is a common experience for many Chinese teens who grow up with parents who emphasize the importance of learning to play a musical instrument. This moment speaks to the obedient side of the teen’s life, where they find it easier to do things for others than for themselves. Satisfying others is typical of a Chinese child working to please parents and their expectations. Although parental pressure is at the forefront of her home life, the teen has found room to explore their identity through French and Korean music- quietly.

Exploring their identity through foreign music suggests the teen wants/needs to explore themselves privately – in a language others would not know, likely behind closed doors.

Va va vus by Florina allow the listener to  hear her inner longing for the desire of another’s love

Aime-la fait comme tu peux,

Si jamais ton cœur hésite (

Love her as you can, even if your heart hesitates)

and the need to break free –

N’oublis pas de sourire en cheminm

Va va vis, va va, mon ami,

Et le destin pourrait bien changer d’avis,

Oh, va a, va

(don’t forget to smile, go, go, go my friend, fate just may change your mind, go, go live).  

The song is ethereal and builds slightly in power as drums are introduced to create an image of a soft march forward. The reverberation technique is added between songs that shimmer into a harder, faster, rock-heavy song by the K-pop group Le Sserafim.

The lyrics are confident -sung in Korean and English (excerpt from the song):

솔직한 내 목소리를 들어줘 (Listen to my honest voice),

난 나일 뿐이야 (ain’t no fear now).

The teen wants to scream:

I’m no freakin’ angel,

I’m no freakin’ goddess,

그리고 네일뿌니야 (Ooh, hold me tight),

어지러운 셍 곽 자바져 항상 (always hold on tight to this dizzying world) Because you’re by my side.