What Olivia Rodrigo, at 23 years old, has figured out that most adults haven't

Olivia's third studio album releases tomorrow and I'm hyped. With pink theming, a thought provoking title (You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl so in Love), and a cover inspired by Jean-Honoré Fragonard's The Swing , it creates an intriguing image.

Why IS she so sad for a girl so in love?

I loved the first single, Drop Dead, with references to the Palace of Versailles (also where she shot the music video), expressing her instant giddiness and attraction to someone she just met. It's the first track on the album, and Olivia described the single as the beginning of a story.

In her interview with Popcast, Olivia said that beginning to end analysis of a relationship sequence of the album wasn't intentional at first, but rather a response of writing all the time. She described herself as a quantity over quality artists, showing her joy of creating to create (ars gratia artis), rather than just for the end result.

If you aren't an Olivia fan, you might not have known she writes all of her music, along with her long-time cowriter and collaborator, Daniel Nigro. Olivia is an artist through and through, and you can feel how much of herself she puts into each song, whether it be describing one moment in detail, or a complex feeling that spans years.

The second single brought us The Cure, track eight of the album. In that same Popcast interview, she lists The Cure as the thesis of the album. My son has banned me from listening to it while he is around, because I kept it on repeat all of his last week of school. (For reference, I have re-listened to it three times while writing this post.) It leaves a mark on you!

That particular song inspired this post. Please listen to it before continuing. While the bridge and chorus are impactful, you need the whole effect.

Why can't you come stitch me up? (I'm unraveled) Why can't it ever be enough? (I'm unraveled) Why can't you come stitch me up? (I'm unraveled) Why can't it ever be enough? (I'm unraveled) It's not enough

The song is undeniably beautiful, but when paired with the video, the wisdom behind it is even further hammered home.

A relationship won't cure you. A job won't make you happy. An opportunity you've dreamed of all your life, won't remove the longing you feel.

You can have everything you've ever wanted, and still not feel fulfilled, if you aren't focusing on the right things. The bar will keep moving, until you decide the here and now is enough.

It's not a lesson I understood until my mid-30s, when I hit near the top of my field, got (mostly) out of debt, had a family, and published over ten books.

My life wasn't enough until I decided it was enough. Once I believed that, the rest started to come into place. It's not a perfect feeling, or a consistent one, but the more I come back to it, the longer it stays, and it sounds like Olivia has aced that lesson early.

But my head is full of poison, and my heart is full of doubt| I got toxins in my bloodstream, you tried hard to suck 'em out And it feels like medication, and it's good for me, I'm sure But it don't matter how your love feels anymore It'll never be the cure It'll never be the cure

It doesn't matter how wonderful the "result" is. The love. The job. The family. They won't fix what you have to fix on your own.

She acknowledges that in the chorus of The Cure, and in the visuals of the music video, where she injects a heart with an antidote over and over again, only to find it fade to grey each time.

Is there anything in your life that you are holding out for, thinking it will be the answer you need to finally be happy?

How can you instead be happy now? Or at least, acknowledge that it is within yourself to reach for it, and not the duty of anyone or anything else?

The list bit of information that I want to mention tonight is the behind the scenes video, where we see Olivia try two options for the last scene.

She broke the dollhouse first with pink heals. Then again, with pink sneakers.

In the final result she choose the sneakers, not the status symbol that heels can be associated with.

Status isn't a cure either. The fresh start with the right perspective is, and she packed up her house to find it.

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