I know I can’t be alone in the Zayn pain I’m feeling after the devastating news that Zayn Malik left One Direction this past week. Whether you admit to being a fan or not doesn’t change the fact that this is a huge deal in the entertainment world. Malik decided to depart from the group so that he could lead a life as a “normal 22-year-old.” This might have been believable if Malik didn’t hit the studio days after his departure to work on his solo career. This news of a solo career only added to the level of Zayn pain, but fear not, fellow Directioners, it gets better after you get through the four stages of Zayn pain, trust me. If you aren’t sure what the four stages are, I am here to share them with you so that we can all heal together.
STAGE ONE: DENIAL
When One Direction posted the official statement to their Facebook page explaining Malik’s decision, it was hard to believe it. The group had been together for five years now and just released a fairly successful album towards the end of last year, so it made no sense for Malik to just up and leave. After I read the statement I didn’t know whether I wanted to believe it or not. Malik was a huge part of the sound that the boys had grown into and now he was gone? Unbelievable!
STAGE TWO: ANGER
After the idea that Malik had decided to leave the group became reality, I started getting extremely worked up about it. My roommate and I bought tickets in September of last year for a One Direction concert this July in the hopes to see the original One Direction. Now that this happened, we will technically never get to see them and that makes me angry. What did I pay money for then? I demand a refund!
STAGE THREE: REMINICSING & SADNESS
Once I blew off some steam by yelling about it with my roommate I moved onto one of the final stages: reminiscing and sadness. I spent part of my night watching old music videos from the good old days and getting emotional over the fact that Malik was in fact gone and would not be blessing my ears with his harmonies this summer. Needless to say, by the end of the night all of the videos were watched and my heart was broken.
STAGE FOUR: ACCEPTANCE
After going through a wide range of emotions in the time period of about three days, I was able to accept the fact that Malik was gone and that it was all going to be OK. Besides, there are still four extremely talented boys, Harry, Niall, Louis and Liam, left to carry the One Direction legacy. What I would say to anyone out there that might be struggling with this new development would be to take my advice: Stay calm, breathe and thank the heavens that it wasn’t Niall.
