During my childhood, I had always felt drawn to the Disney Channel show “Hannah Montana.” One of my biggest inspirations is Miley Cyrus, but I never knew the genuine reason I cared so much. Of course I knew that she was talented, individualistic and, to some, a role model. Nevertheless, I had other people I felt this way about, but none of them influenced me quite the way that Miley Cyrus did. So why was I so fascinated? 

Within the show, the introduction song is “The Best of the Both Worlds.” The song uses lyrics like “it’s really you, but no one ever discovers” / “you get the best of both worlds” / “the best part is that you get to be whoever you want to be” / “living two lives is a little weird.” Since we have heard it so many times, we know the lyrics, but we have never understood them. 

To understand lyrics is important because of the intellect behind them. This goes with every song, but in the case of “Hannah Montana,” it relates to several areas of real life that many people do not realize. The introductory song and the premise of the show is all about masking your identity for different audiences. This is something that we do every day. 

At any point of your life, you will transform yourself around different people or groups. It is instinctual for humans to change themselves based on their surroundings so they can seem likable or able to fit in. In “Hannah Montana,” Miley Stewart switches between Miley and Hannah. Miley Stewart is the small-town, normal girl, and Hannah Montana is a larger-than-life popstar.

Throughout the four-season series, Miley undergoes trials and tribulations with her sense of identity. She dreamt of being a star that could switch between glamor and normality, but as she grew older, it became more difficult. 

In an episode about her senior prom, she offered to go with a boy named Aaron because he was rejected by another girl. After they agreed to go, she got a phone call from David Archuleta about recording a song together. Miley made plans to go to prom, but Hannah had plans to record with David. Her identity became difficult to deal with because the two people she was could no longer coexist. The older you get and the more obligations you have the harder it is to switch. 

This is very similar to everyday life. When we are around different friends, we change our personalities to what we and the present friend have in common. All friendships are different, and this can be hard because we lose sight of who we truly are in the process. Additionally, we act differently around parents, family, professors, employees and bosses. When we are children, we are innocent and exactly who we should be. When we grow up, we realize that we have to conform. 

Due to the fact that we conform, we do not know how to remain true to that inner child. It is inevitable, but it is also important to realize. For example, if you join a fraternity or a sorority, there is a chance that you will change who you are to fit a crowd. If you begin working at a law firm, you will change your personality to become more professional. 

Who are we at our core? It gets easier to tell once you take advice from who you were while young. There are meanings within everything; nothing is ever useless. The TV shows we watched when we were growing up were teaching us things for our older selves to look back on. 

Nostalgia is the feeling of missing the past. It happens when we sense something that we once experienced, and we crave it. I began to realize that this feeling is the root of all complications. As we grow old, we want what we used to have. We do not necessarily want the things that we were going through, but we want the innocence we used to be made of. 

As I sit here at 20 years old, I understand what I love so much about Miley Cyrus and “Hannah Montana.” It, and they, taught me how to come together as one after camouflaging for years. At the end of “Hannah Montana,” Miley Stewart tells her audience that she is both Miley and Hannah. Some people were happy and others were not. Nonetheless, she was happy. She did not have to pretend anymore. 

Your inspirations should make you feel as though you have a place. They teach you things subliminally that you may have to look deeply into but will ultimately understand at one point or another. Regardless of the drastic comparison, there is a similarity within everything. 

You get the best of both worlds. Which world do you want forever? 

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