Both Sides Now Thinkwrite

      In her song “Both Sides Now,” Joni Mitchell shifts from the naïve, whimsical views of a young child to the experienced, disillusioned views of an adult to convey that “something’s lost and something’s gained in living every day.” At the start of each verse, Mitchell describes various aspects of life in the whimsical way that a child might, referring to clouds as “ice cream castles.” Mitchell then shifts to a more experienced point of view, describing these aspects of life as a disillusioned adult would. This shifting of attitudes throughout the song helps to emphasize the fact that all aspects of life have two sides, and in order to truly understand the way the world works, one must look at life from “both sides now.” I have experienced a similar situation in my own life. As a young child, I assumed that high school would be a fun and carefree point in my life, much like how I had seen it depicted in my favorite TV shows and movies. However, I now realize that high school is a very stressful time, full of responsibilities and obligations that must be fulfilled. This shift in my point of view is comparable to that of the speaker in Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now.”