The metaphor, “You're a flashback”, shows how the past incidents and events relating to “You” once again refers either to her past self or her ex, are now nothing but distant and faint memories to her, with little relevance anymore. Despite this, she describes this as “in a film reel”, continuing the metaphor, suggesting that the memories and experiences referenced in the previous line are ones that are also preserved, etched, and imprinted into her mind, now also conveying how they are memorable experiences for her because of how they have impacted and influenced her. The visual imagery of it also implies a whole string of pictures, and in this case memories, telling us the significance it holds for her because of the amount of memories she has kept of them, “the” shows the speaker directly addressing a specific object, in this case a “screen”. ”one screen” remains an addition to the metaphor and now describes how it is the single and only place things are shown on. This represents how all she sees and all that is playing in her mind is her past and specifically the incidents referenced here, with nothing else different, rehashing the idea repeated through the poem of how she is still hung up on it and is unable to move on or past it. In the context of the metaphor, “in my town” refers to her mind. It has the dual effect of further supporting what has already been established, as well as providing us more insight into her view and stand on the situation. “my town” suggests a homely region that provides the individual with a great sense of calm comfort and security. Applying this to her current context, it also seems to imply that he invades and disrupts the privacy and comfort of her mind, through constantly playing memories of him. I feel slight annoyance at how hung up she is and the significance she places in something that is so seemingly unimportant. I reflect on the theme of moving on and how it can be detrimental to continue to cling to the past even though it is something not in our control and that we cannot change.

“But” brings back the restraint she is still able to display despite the tough situation she is placed in. Despite the direct chance in the previous lines to give in to her vices, as well as the pain she is clearly suffering through, she is able to possess and show the control to not do so and instead work towards a better situation for herself. This once more displays another situation in which the speaker is “trying”. Continuing this idea, “I didn't” pushes the concept that she stops and restrains herself from doing something that she could have and had the chance to. The fact that she was able to not “pour the whiskey”, something addictive that she has already shown she is susceptible to giving into, highlights to us the control she in able to perform, her “trying” as stated in the title and chorus, and she continues to work towards a better situation for herself she is happier with. Immense joy is evoked in me at how the speaker still continues to persevere despite her tough situation and makes a conscious effort to constantly “try”. I reflect on the theme of control and how helpful it can be, but with the drawback of being hard to possess. However this should not stop us from striving towards it because of its importance to us in our daily lives.

“And” shows her adding to the growing list of effects and impacts it has had on her life she lists out. “it's hard” the diction made use of here, paired with her exasperated tone of voice applied, highlights her exhaustion from all the pain and suffering she has endured and how this adds on to that suffering, painting her situation out to be a painful and great struggle once more. “party” connotes a lively atmosphere of a gathering held for the purposes of celebration, a joyful and exciting occasion. However, since the line tells us she is unable to enjoy parties now, it has the direct meaning that she is unable to have fun and enjoy herself at parties, but also signifies how she is unable to enjoy herself and have fun anymore, even during times of joy and celebration. “I feel like an open wound” the simile compares her current mental and emotional state to an “open wound”. “open wound” implies great vulnerability to pain due to a lack of healing at that point in time, of a recent injury, one that is serious enough to pierce through the top layers of the skin and expose blood and the lower layers of the skin. This mirrors and subsequently emphasises how her recent detrimental and harmful situation has left her vulnerable and more prone to even greater pain and suffering because she has not yet healed or moved on from it yet.

“classmates” implies peers of a similar age and calibre, all of whom are young, all the more making “Fell behind” at the start of this line seem all the more shocking and surprising to the reader, as it serves to greatly emphasise the lack of ability she seems to possess from what is said in this one line alone. She was even unable to keep up and follow along with those who were of a similar standard to her, even when she was young, implying a great disadvantage she has carried along since then. The absolute word “all” further emphasises this idea of how she is unable to catch up with her peers, now even going as far as to state she was completely unable to match the pace of any of them and was left behind and always last. “I ended up here” conveys that her current situation is a direct result and outcome of the scenario described in the line, also showing how many things, even from when she was young, has caused her to end up in this current situation. “here” refers to her current difficult and precarious crisis she is currently stuck in, further evoking shock in the reader from how long she has seemingly been suffering and all the little things building up over a long period of time that have caused her current crisis

“ahead of the curve” refers to being ahead in thinking and execution, doing something other are yet to do but will soon follow behind, something with a positive connotation as it suggests being the lead of something, and therefore at an advantage. However, its positive connotation is flipped around when the speaker describes that she is “so” ahead of the curve, implying too much of it, causing “the curve” to become “a sphere”. The metaphor serves to show how she used to be at an advantage, so much so that it started to have the opposite effect and become a disadvantage to her. This is an idea repeated through the song of how wasted she feels her potential and accomplishments in the past were. The visual imagery of a curve becoming a sphere has an open line forming a loop that is endless. This mirrors how she once felt fully in control and on top of her life, but she went back to how she used to be, indicating a lack of growth and improvement, and it became an endless cycle with no exit which trapped her instead. The repetition of the idea of being trapped emphasises to us how helpless and desperate she feels in this situation, with seemingly no way out of it. This evokes immense sorrow in me for how stuck the speaker feels and her inability to reverse it. I reflect on the theme of entrapment and how lost and helpless we may easily begin to feel in a situation and how a way out may not always appear as clear as it actually is in the moment.

The repetition of “I just wanted you to know / That this is me trying” serves to highlight her desperation to show and emphasise her efforts made, as she wants to reinforce how much she wants to fix the situation. The melancholic tone of the line also helps add to the overall dreary and depressing nature of the song, mirroring and emphasising her similarly depressing predicament.

“I” tells us that this is purely her own personal decision, highlighting to us again the importance of fixing the situation for her. The diction of “just” tells us that allowing her ex to have the knowledge that she is making the effort to fix things is all she wants and desires and does not see anything else as necessary or important. The use of “wanted” highlights once more the importance of settling the situation to her, as she feels the need to do something about it, and her urge and desire to make things right. “you to know” shows to us the significance of what she is doing, to her. She regards her actions and efforts as significant and important enough steps in the right direction, to the extent she feels the need to share them with her ex.

“But” shows how despite the previous line highlighting to us her hesitation and worry, the speaker is able to overcome her fears and anxieties and being able to muster up the courage in order to face her ex, and by association, her past mistakes and failures, therefore coming to terms with the mistakes she may have made in the past and taking accountability for them. This displays to the readers her growth and how she is able to start taking the initial small steps to improve her situation, in turn showing her willingness and hope to do so as well. “I'm” displays to the reader how she is able to make the brave decision to bear the responsibility of the situation on her own and is able to take accountability for what has happened. This shows the emotional maturity she takes the conscious effort to keep up and do what is right instead of what is easy, once more linking back to the title and showing how she is “trying” to improve the situation. “doorway” evokes the visual imagery of the speaker slightly stepping foot in the entrance of her ex’s home, ready to finally face him. This also works as a metaphor for how the speaker is ready to face and tackle her problems head on, even if she is just beginning to take the first step. This once again pushes to the readers the speaker’s desire and willingness to improve her situation. Admiration is evoked in me by the speaker’s bravery as she possesses the strength and courage to fight through the pain and sadness she is made to endure, to improve her situation and circumstance. This pushes me to reflect on the theme of courage and how much of it it takes to constantly overcome fears and pressures in order for us to flip the odds in our favour and improve any bad situation we may be in.

The line refers to how she had the thought to jump off the lookout referenced in the previous yet was able to show to the restraint not to. "Could've" suggests something that was considered and had the possibility to but did not happen, showing the self control and restraint the speaker is still able to possess despite the difficult situation she is in. This links back to the title and shows how despite how small and insignificant it may seem, this is the speaker's way of "trying". The possessive adjective "my" used, shows how personal and intimate to her the "fears" in question are, further highlighting how intense and painful this struggle is for her. The high word intensity of "fears" emphasises to us how truly scary, excruciating and distressing, what the speaker is going through, is to her. The absolute word "all" used shows the extreme and intense ways she thinks, further displaying how much the situation has affected her. "down” refers to her theoretically going down as she jumps off the lookout, but also serves as a metaphor to represent the possibility that she could let herself go and allow her life and emotions to go “down” and degrade, yet she takes back the control in this situation and decides not to, further showing how she is “trying” as suggested in the title. Great hope is evoked in me as despite the speaker’s harsh and tough situation, she consciously makes the effort to stop herself from making reckless decisions and still wants to better and improve her situation. I reflect on the theme of pain and how on one hand, we can allow it to consume and be greatly detrimental to us, yet on the other hand, we can take back our power and control and take the steps to improve the circumstance.

The line serves as a metaphor mirroring her relationship so far and its recent shift in tone, with her "wheels", signifying her progress in it so far. The diction of "had" implies something that was once present and in the possession of the speaker but now absent. The visual imagery of the comparative adjective, "shinest", used shows the once immense and extreme luxury and value present in the relationship. Up till this point, it has been pristine with no issues and smooth sailing, secure and comfortable. However, this is then followed by "now" and "rusting" showing how the once smooth sailing and comfortable relationship has taken a sharp and likely recent turn and is now beginning to become tainted and is now starting to wear off, revealing its true dull and problematic nature. The once comfortable and smooth sailing relationship she enjoyed has now lost its allure and turned into something ugly, unusable, and unstable as the "wheels" are no longer able to function as they were made to. I feel great pity at the speaker's sudden plight and how affected by it she is. I reflect on the theme of relationships and how much pain and suffering they can bring when they turn sour because of the value and importance we place in it.

The discomfort and awkwardness in the speaker's tone of voice in "I've been having a hard time adjusting" shows how the speaker is unable to express directly the pain and suffering she feels, at the start of the song. "been" tells us that the struggle that she is going through is current and ongoing. The diction of "hard" further pushes how she masks the true pain and hurt she feels because despite the low word intensity it is portrayed with now, she later goes on to describe this same pain in greater detail and we are able to see how, contrary to what she states now, it is actually deeply affecting her.

The visual imagery of "Pulled the car off the road to the lookout" vividly paints the picture for the readers of how the speaker drives to a lookout, a tall tower, with the intention to end her life. The fact that she deliberately drives to the lookout with the preconceived knowledge wants to end her life there creates a dark and sombre atmosphere because of how serious of a situation this is. This helps to emphasise to us how truly dreary and depressing her situation is and how much it is affecting her, even to the extreme extent where she considers taking her own life.

The absolute word “all” used conveys to the reader how others attempt to help her but they end up doing the opposite as they do not understand the situation well enough and up end over generalising the speaker’s struggles due to their ignorance yet still feel they have the right to tell her what to do, something that could be greatly detrimental to her situation. “my” shows us that despite the fact that the metaphorical “cages” belong to her, implying a deep connection only she has with them, she is still told by others through unsolicited advice what it is or isn’t, evoking great pity towards the speaker because her judgement of what is best for herself gets clouded by others who barely understand the situation and have nothing to do with it at all. The vivid tactile imagery evoked by “cages” creates a claustrophobic and uncomfortable sense of entrapment and a lack of freedom. This closely mirrors how trapped the speaker feels by her metaphorical “cages”, in this case referring to her “mental” setbacks caused by the situation. “mental” implies to us that others seem to be telling the speaker that all her problems are made up in her head and are therefore neglecting and belittling her true pain and suffering, therefore painting her out to be self-sabotaging and pushing the blame of her failures all onto her.

“words” are a double-edged sword. They are able to bring about joy, comfort, and excitement, along with other various positive benefits when used properly and responsibly. However on the other hand, it can bring around the exact opposite and cause great hurt and pain to those on the receiving end. In this case, words being used with a negative intention are what is referenced. “my words” proves to us the impact and intent of her words. It directly references this scenario and the line continues with the negative intention and effect behind it. “shoot to kill” is a metaphor, in this case, used to refer to the detrimental and harmful impact of her words. It relates this act to a deadly and lethal action of utilising a weapon against someone with the intention of lethally harming and injuring them. The high word intensity of “shoot” and “kill” in this metaphor further helps to emphasise the extreme nature of this action and its greatly aggressive and violent nature. This displays to the reader a different side of her, exposing her aggressive and violent nature when provoked and in this case, “mad”.

“Pouring out my heart” is a metaphor used to describe the speaker unloading her emotions and feelings to someone else. Similar to a liquid being “poured”, her emotions are spilling and rushing out of her as she shares her situation to someone else, possibly in the setting of a bar, suggested by “wasted like all my potential”, and the following line. Here, she is sharing her thoughts “to a stranger”, suggesting the desperation of her situation as she is seen resorting to talking openly in detail about her pain and suffering to someone she does not know well, also implying she has no one else to turn to and confide in, making her situation all the more pitiful and tragic.

“At least I’m trying” The repetition of this line harkens back to the same idea initially conveyed by the line the first time it was stated, highlighting her frustration towards her situation and the lack of impact her various efforts have on it. The line used to end off the song also has the alternate purpose and effect of helping to emphasise her desperation to drive this point home, as she continues to reinforce this even all the way till the end.

The repetition of “It's hard” from the previous line reiterates how greatly she is struggling with her current situation, helping to further stress the great pain and suffering she constantly feels now. This line follows a similar structure and phrasing as the previous line, but now greatly expands the radius from “party”, one specific event she feels uncomfortable at, to “anywhere”, showing how she is, in fact, simply not comfortable or secure at any location due to her current circumstances “these days” proves again that her current climate is a recent development, and it was not always this way, something previously indication by prior lines, including the second line. The diction of “all”, and, “want”, shows her extreme desire for her situation to revert back to how it was before because of how painful and agonising even simple acts have now become for her. “you” refers to her past self before her life began to spiralled down into the suffering crisis it has now become, and back when she had her life in control with the privilege of comfort, joy and enjoyment in it, a life alluded to in preceding lines including, “had the shiniest wheels” and “ahead of the curve”.

The extreme exasperation and desperation in her tone of voice in “At least I'm trying”, paired with the diction of “At least”, highlights to us how frustrated she begins to feel because of how futile and useless her efforts seem and the lack of positive effect brought about by it, as she desperately feel the need to state directly that she is “trying”.

“I have a lot of regrets about that” The repetition of the line helps to push the idea of her excess of “regrets”, by listing even more examples of it. Once again proving how much pain and suffering she feels because of how hung up and stuck she is to the past. This line following the previous line also shows how out of control she feels, evoking sadness for her helplessness in this scenario.

“So” tells us that her actions are a direct result of what others have told her, possibly indicating to us how insecure she is in herself and her own decision making, and instead she listens to what others tell her to do despite their lack of knowledge of the situation. The diction of “wasted” highlights to us how lousy and worthless she feels through the high word intensity. In this case, the word also refers to two different things, abusing alcohol and throwing away all her potential. The implication that she abuses alcohol further helps to display how painful and devastating her situation is, to the extent she harms herself by excessively drinking alcohol in an effort to provide temporary relief and comfort for herself. This high word intensity used to describe how her potential has been neglected and misused further highlights her insecurity, this time caused by the opinions of others. The absolute word “all” shows the extreme thinking employed by those around her and how it has influenced her too. It paints her situation out to be irreversible and inescapable, further pushing how trapped she is made to feel by others, an idea present in the previous line as well. “potential” suggests the power and possibility to do something in the future, but is not done. “wasted” used to describe this proves to us how useless she feels now because of how she feels she lacks the power to do anything in the future and therefore does not seem to her to have a future to look forward to. It repeats a similar idea of feeling trapped as she now feels trapped and stuck in the present with no future to anticipate. The exasperated yet somewhat calm and direct tone of the line signals to us how desperate she is for a way out that this seems to her like the only logical and possible way to remedy it, once again highlighting how much she is struggling and in pain. I feel deep shock at her truly great pain and suffering, and the ways in which she attempts to manage it. This pushes me to reflect on the theme of possibilities and how we should seize every opportunity we are presented with and do our best with all of them in order to continue improving and growing and to prevent ourselves from regrets in the future and unhappiness with what we have done in the past.

“maybe” shows her doubt and insecurity once again in moving on and healing from the situation, evoking pity in the reader for how lost and unable to make a decision she seems. “don't quite know what to say” the uncertain tone of the line shows us how unsure and hesitant of the whole situation she still is, helping to make her confrontation of it all the more courageous and admirable, as she is able to overcome what seems like impossible challenges for her.

The diction of “have” displays to the reader how this is a struggle that is an ongoing and current battle for her, as she continues to currently feel remorseful for what she has done, the “regrets” referred to in the line. "a lot" implies the abundance and excessiveness of something, in this case her "regrets", emphasising the great guilt and remorse she feels towards the situation, as well as how she continues to think and fret over it. This once again displays her struggle with her current situation as she seems to be unable to move on and instead remains hung up on what has happened in the past. She refers to what she has regrets about as “that”, a general term, showing how she is still unable to come to terms with the situation and instead avoids directly addressing it, once again reinforcing to the readers the immense agony and misery she is put in by her situation.

“this” in this context, addresses the various incidents and occurrences she describes throughout the entirety of the song, all of which exemplify her consistent efforts to improve her conditions. “me” once again displays to the reader how personal this entire journey is for her. The events depicted in the song are her specific ideas of trying and demonstrates what it means to her personally. The diction of the adjective, “trying”, implies persistent effort being put into a goal that has still not yet been reached and still currently being strived towards. This reinforces the recurring theme in the song, reflecting how it describes the ways in which the speaker begins taking small steps towards moving on from what has happened in the past and working towards putting herself in a better situation.

The hesitant and uncertain tone of "I didn't know if you'd care" highlights her current lack in self-confidence and her insecurity now that the relationship has ended, and the anxiety it has caused her. It shows how she begins to feel a lack of security and assurance and now is instead faced with more hesitation.

The speaker is once again advising the reader to feel indifferent to loss and this time even goes as far as to suggest forgetting things as significant as places which many may find value in in many ways like the memories associated to them, yet the speaker finds these completely not of value and unimportant. She also suggests forgetting names, something tied closely to someone identity and is significant to each individual, yet once again, she wants the readers to forget them which also implies the speaker wanting readers to forget about the people they know no matter their importance to the readers evoking great surprise at the speaker’s absurd advice. I reflect on the theme of indifference, specifically towards loss and how it can prevent us from truly caring about the things that matter to us.

The repetition of the line shows her continuing to reinforce and suggest again the idea of losing things. The casual tone it is said in shows how she finds it to be something easy to do, reinforcing the message she attempts to convey about losing things and how easily it can be mastered. Comparing losings things to an “art” is ironic as art is something appreciated and celebrated by people for its beauty, but losing things is not something people often celebrate but instead is something that causes pain and grief, however, in this case, the speaker is celebrating and praising the idea of losing things, therefore comparing it to art to push her point, even going as far as to encourage readers to celebrate it too. She also suggests to “master” it, something that takes a great deal of time, effort and practice, showing once again how she celebrates loss this time by how she implies it is something that is worth our time and effort. I feel disgust at her constant insistence on losing things and being indifferent to it. I reflect on the theme of persistence and how some constantly assert their ideas and beliefs to others.

The diction of “loss” suggests the devastating and highly impacting absence of something that would cause great sadness. The high word intensity “disaster” also used to describe the loss further emphasising its great shock and impact to the speaker, yet when paired with the absolute word “no”, means the complete opposite, showing that now she had accepted the concept of loss in her life and is absolutely no longer fazed by it despite how hurtful it can be. I feel great shock at how the numb the speaker is to the overwhelming distress loss can cause. I reflect on the theme of acceptance and how it can help us avoid unnecessary pain and agony yet can also prevent us from cherishing things.

This suggestion made by the speaker is conveyed in a nonchalant and indifferent tone, highlighting her indifference and numbness to losing things. “something” further pushes the idea of the speaker’s indifference as the things being lost are not named directly but are instead referred to together with a general term showing the lack of care and concern the speaker she has for each individual item she has lost. It also shows how no matter the item lost, she would not be affected and suggests the reader to feel the same evoking concern for the lack of value she places in things. The diction of “every day” means that the speaker would still be unaffected and unfazed by it even if it became extremely frequent and constantly happened. I feel concern towards the speaker as she is unmoved by loss and dismissive towards the idea of feeling pain or hurt when it occurs. I reflect on the theme of loss and how indifference towards it evokes great pity as it shows the lack of care people may feel towards things.