—growth and love coexist in the same place, for whenever one learns to love, a tiny sprout of wisdom and knowledge grows within.

"i don't want to die anymore."
- answer : love myself

#WordsByBangtan @wordsby_bangtan
#방탄소년단 @BTS_twt

disclaimer: this is all just my own interpretation, this song means so much to me and i hope this thread will make you see this heavenly song in a different perspective. feel free to qrt or reply with your own insights as well! O(∩_∩)O

acceptance

; jikook opened the song with their heavenly vocals as they sung about having to face someone— the one that creeps into our beds with unanswered question and forces us to look at them.

+ then comes yoongi's verse, showing us a bird's eye view where we see everything including us facing someone that has given us so much doubts, pain, the one that we despise the most—ourselves, for we didn't pushed ourselves beyond our limit, but rather at the edge of a cliff.

" the wide growth ring in your life, that is also a part of you, that is also you. so let’s forgive yourself now"

-trees create rings in there trunks as they grew older, meaning that they have endured change of the seasons, thus it being called "growth rings" or "annual rings"+

+ like the trees, we also have these growth rings inside of us. yoongi encouraged us to accept and admit the fact that the shame of our past prevents us to move forward, and forgive ourselves for doing so. just like the trees, we are also bound to experience the winter+

+the hardships, and the cold bruising pain of it. But, the bright side of it is that there will always be an end. Spring will come and heal our wounds where the only thing that will be left are the marks---the marks that proves you've lived, you've fought, and you have grown.

[ skipping the pre-chorus and chorus for awhile! i have a pattern for this thread hehehe ^^ ]

learning

; in life, we often seek for other's validation to what we do. we do the things for them to be pleased. but in namseok's back to back verse, it highlights the word "me." namjoon assessing what it really means to love oneself, that maybe there really isn't an answer+

+ but, so what? as we learn to accept the reality, we may feel that sometimes the answer is much further than we expected, and that is okay. just choosing to live is enough.

"im still looking for myself again, but i dont want to die anymore. me who was sad, me who was hurt, me who will be more beautiful"

this line left me sobbing because it shows hope. as young teens, the world make us suffer to the point that we wish our lives to be taken+

+but as we learn and realize that winter doesn't last too long, we stand our feet to the ground and move. sure, there still are a lot of questions and doubts, but u feel ok! being okay with the uncertainty because you know that better days are coming, and you look forward for it.

; and we will learn the answers to our questions aren't really so far away. as namjoon ends his verse with "me who will be more beautiful." hoseok starts with "knowing the presence of such beauty, is the way to my love." just shows that beauty nd 'd answer, truly lies within.

"FOR ME."

hoseok's verse revolved around putting himself first, not being afraid of anything because now he knows that it is only the right thing to do. loving yourself, even just through little things. that is what we need and what we should do.

"From the start of the beginning, and until the finish of the ending, there is only one answer."

just like how seokjin sung this pre-chorus with his amazingly silver voice and smooth falsetto, he adds that the answer is right in front of us. it never went away.

[the pre-chorus and chorus were sung by vocal line, jikook in pre-chorus & taejin in chorus, therefore making it more sentimental and personal. they always prove that they have the BEST vocal line in this generation. in the 2nd chorus, jinmin sung pre-chorus n taekook chorus]

[ and the bridge with that heavenly high note by vminkook! they also harmonize from time to time in live performances which is so soothing and heart-warming to hear, wish i could also hear it live someday. ]

growth

; the first pre-chorus after yoongi's verse said

"The stare of a cold night, to hide my miserable self, i tossed and turned, but did i fall to be showered by those countless stars? im the only target aimed by those thousands of glittering arrows."

- meaning that even if the standards we have to ourselves are so high and we end up falling at the edge of a cliff, as we lie down looking at the stars up the skies and are reminded that there is nothing wrong with pain and failure. that your 'miserable' self+

+is what makes you, you.

and as we look into the second pre-chorus after namseok's verse, one thing i've noticed is that that it answered the first one.

"From the start of the beginning and until the finish of the ending, there is only one answer. why do you keep trying to hide under your mask, when even the scars made by your own mistake mark your constellations."

- like the rings inside the tree trunks, the scars+

+that we have only adds up to the masterpiece that is us. there is no need to hide that we are in a process of being better, there is nothing wrong with pain and scars, for it just further proves that you have fought a great battle no one else knew.

finally, the chorus and the answer;

"you showed me i have reasons i should love myself. i answer with all my breathe and all the path i've walked along."

- let us face it, some of us are drowned by our own thoughts which removes rational explanation in the equation. +

in this song, the tannies aren't only advocating about loving one self but also emphasizing the people who helped them emerge under water, and they have gained so much confidence because of it, therefore continuing to walk towards the path of growing as person. +

"Yesterday’s me, today’s me, tomorrow’s me (I’m learning how to love myself) Without exception, all together, they are all me"

this. taehyung with his god-sent voice just hit home harder. it reminded me just like what yoongi said in his verse "the wide growth ring in your life+

+ that is also a part of you, that is also you." when loving one self it is necessary to accept each and every part of it. whether the good or bad side because at the end of the day, it is you. the one's that make up your constellation and create your growth ring? +

+ the one that you learn from? the one that makes you realize that you are only a person capable of failing. and that is okay. our scars are what makes us beautiful, being imperfect makes us perfectly beautiful. :) +

"inside me, there's still my clumsy self."

loving yourself doesn't mean you will re-invent yourself and forget your past, every part of you stays within so it is impossible to forget them, so instead, we should accept and forgive them for not being the better at the time.+

notice also how the tannies encourages us and not force us to do this or that, so even if people were used as instruments for your breakthrough, the choice to accept and learn from it, is still yours. and by accepting you will learn, by learning—you will grow.

—once again @BTS_twt made me realize that growth is not a one time thing. we grow every. single. day. so please, no matter what others tell you, go at your own pace. know yourself, let yourself heal, and grow like the tallest tree you know. #WordsByBangtan @wordsby_bangtan

source for the lyrics translation ! thank u so much @doolsetbangtan
> i edited the the picture in canva ^^ https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/2018/08/24/answer-love-myself/

ALSO! congrats to our Love Yourself : Answer for reaching 4 BILLION streams on Spotify! It became the first Korean Album to hit 4B aaaa <3 such a queen! https://twitter.com/PopBase/status/1386366776146112517?s=20