I Run The Red

A song about defiance, survival, and refusing to stop just because the world tells you to wait.

I Run The Red was one of the first songs where I really heard the bolder version of myself come through.

It came from years of being told, directly or indirectly, to slow down, be careful, behave, keep my head down, be grateful, don’t make trouble, don’t be too much. I understand that some caution comes from love, but too much of it can start to feel like a cage.

The red light became a symbol for every warning I was expected to obey just because someone else was uncomfortable with me moving forward.

The song isn’t really about being reckless. It’s about urgency. It’s about the feeling that if you wait until everyone approves of your freedom, you might never move at all.

When I sing it now, I hear the Watseka version of me and the Chicago version of me in the same room. One was scared. One was furious. Both of them wanted out.

On Growing Into Me, the remix makes the song feel less like an escape route and more like a statement of identity. It reminds me that sometimes the first step toward becoming yourself is refusing to stop at a light that was never meant to protect you.