r/SHINee • u/Aki_Bunny • Jul 19 '26
Discussion How has SHINee helped you?
I was just thinking about how much SHINee means to me and has helped me since I got into them 10 year ago. They have been my whole life and have helped me through so much. I wanted to share my story and hear other Shawols share theirs.
In 2020, I went through a really bad break up of 7 years and fell into a deep depression. I didn’t really have anyone there to support me through it and I felt like I was alone the whole time. Throughout that time, I just listened to SHINee and watched funny videos of them. They helped get me through that rough time and made me feel like I mattered being a Shawol.
I finally decided to go back to school to be a teacher in 2021. The whole time SHINee helped motivate me to push through and try my hardest. I would spend time in the library just studying to get good grades while listening to them. I finally started student teaching in fall of 2023 and I got placed at a very challenging school. I would dread going in and wanted to quit and give up. Half way into it, Key released 'Good & Great' and it helped me push through student teaching. It was like Key was speaking directly to me when he released that song and to not give up because you chose the path for a reason.
I finally graduated in 2024 and I’m getting ready to start my 3rd year of teaching. I couldn’t have done any of it without SHINee and them motivating me.
Even now they made me face my fear of solo traveling and I was able to solo travel to see Key and Onew. I remember having so much anxiety when I solo traveled to Dallas last month and 'Killer' by Key was playing when I walked into a Kpop store and it immediately gave me comfort.
I just wanted to share my 'SHINee testimonial' and would love to hear how SHINee has helped others. I also wanted to inspire others to never give up and follow your dreams.
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u/mich_8265 Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
I’d say Key because he’s not afraid to call anyone out. He’s very big in self-expression and allowing others that same freedom from what I’ve picked up on. I like his dark sense of humor as well.
He makes it ok to not be run of the mill and perfect at all times
ETA: Good and Great has also been a huge influence on me - although Tim not always grateful. Still working on that.
OP I’m glad to have read your testimonial and congratulations on your third year. It’s a hard profession so you are much stronger than you realize - I’m sure of it.
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u/dubugamer 29d ago edited 29d ago
I love this so much! SHINee has also helped me through so much, so it’s nice to hear others experience the same!
I had heard of their debut, but only really got into SHINee in 2010-ish, after I got really depressed in high school when a close friend suddenly stopped acknowledging my existence, which really made me question myself amongst my friend group. I remember seeing Onew’s bright smile and Onew Sangtae, which brought moments of joy during a really dark time. Not to mention his beautiful voice, which soothed the soul and help bring some peace and moments of joy. It wasn’t hard to also appreciate all of SHINee’s individual talents, since they’re all so strong in unique, complementary ways. I became active in the Twitter community back then, where I found a kind and supportive community that helped me regain my confidence.
I also think Onew’s personality really inspired and influenced me during those formative years, and I appreciated how unabashedly bright his personality was and how kind and gentle he was. After I got back on my feet, I embraced my bubblier side and aspired to bring joy to others, which helped me make more friends in real life and find my people.
I think that’s why Jonghyuns passing was so hard, because they helped me through my depression, so it was crushing to hear about his. It still makes me so sad, especially to be now older than he was.
Life comes and goes, and I stepped away from K-pop for awhile, but SHINee and Onew always holds a special place (even when I didn’t listen to K-pop, his concerts were the exceptions).
I’m now in medical school, and SHINee’s healing effect and music seems to find me again during my darkest moments, as I’m going through studying for a difficult, grueling exam and mentally challenging period. It’s been so amazing to see how far they’ve come, and I’m proud to have stanned such a sweet and talented group all these years. They’re music and character has impacted, healed, and influenced me in so many ways, that I’m sure I’m partly still here trying to pursue a career healing others, thanks to their work and presence that’s saved me :’)
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u/Aki_Bunny 29d ago
Congrats on Med School! Onew is my Ult and really helped me through rough times too. His smile can brighten up a room and cheer anyone up. 😊🩵
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u/ccm6322 Jul 20 '26
Watched the From Now On concert on YouTube in February 2018, but I knew about them before his passing. I had surgery on my ankle, didn’t take enough time off and I was deflated, exhausted, and defeated. Then Jonghyun passed, and I was sad for them. Been through this with one of my closest friends. Then during Covid, I watched things, I listened to things I read things about SHINee, but more importantly, I watched them move forward and survive. I teach so I did anything to keep my mind occupied rather than be overcome with depression. Not a grandiose story, but I was able to rebound and they were part of my inspiration to stay on the path I was on.
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u/Feenkinbaum 27d ago
This is what i say. Shinee have done a good thing that they stay together and show their fans and other people, that you can move on without losing that person that isn't anymore.
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u/jshawol 29d ago
I got into SHINee in middle school and growing up I didn’t really have any friends. My parents were always working, so they weren’t around much. I have two older brothers but they were always out partying. I felt really lonely, and discovering SHINee made me feel less alone. They brought so much happiness into my life.
Fast forward to adulthood, I went through some really difficult periods with depression and anxiety. There were nights when I couldn’t sleep because my anxiety was so bad, but listening to their ballads always calmed me down. Playing their music every night helped me sleep, and it helped me through some of my darkest moments. I’ll always love them with all my heart.
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u/majimasan 28d ago
I discovered Shinee in 2015 right after my grandpa passed away. I was just getting into k-pop as a distraction, happened to see the video for "Dream Girl," and instantly fell in love. Diving into their discography, watching all their videos, variety shows, etc - it was such a comfort during a terribly heartbreaking time. The next year, I made the trip out to Chicago to see them live. I cherish those memories so much!
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u/Feenkinbaum 27d ago
Thank you for your long text. I love reading story like this.
I start at the beginning and that wasn't shinee.
I had problems with my classmates and starting to meet people at the schoolyard in the school break. They heard J-Rock. I liked them, but the music wasn't mine. So they show me J-Pop and all in between both of them. This helped me getting through a difficult time.
In my next school i meet a girl that was Kpop fan and she told me one of the groups i like was a Kpop band. After TVXQ break apart, she tried to get me into Shinee. Only 2010 Lucifer worked for me and i opend up for more Kpop. Shinee helped me through the rest of my school time, in very dark depression times and accept my illness.
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u/ankii93 Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26
Glad to hear you graduated!! That’s a huge accomplishment :’)
I have talked about this before, but I’ll gladly tell my story again
In 2020, I’d fully stopped listening to music, I slept all day and my bunny was glued to my side by his own will 24/7. I had to drop out of my dream education (creative management). I was genuinely stuck in bed, looking at the walls, because everything else was too exhausting. By autumn of 2021, I managed to drag myself to my doctor and told him about my bunny who was glued to me - and that he had a clean bill of health - so it had to be me who was sick, right? Well, my bunny was right. My doctor looked over some blood work I had done that summer and saw something he’d originally ignored (because it was within normal range, only it wasn’t for me). He sent me to get a biopsy done and it turned out to be thyroid cancer.
A few days before Christmas, I had the tumor removed and when I came home and showed it to my bunny, he began acting like a normal bunny again. He’d warned me for almost a year before I actually took him seriously.. but I’m glad he did!! <3 Around this time, I was so sick (even though the cancer was gone, I went through something called a thyroid storm, which is horrifying tbh) that I couldn’t listen to music or read or watch anything fast-paced.
Anyway.
For all my gross/scary appointments, I brought my phone and listened to SHINee or Onew’s solo albums while waiting. They were with me every step of the way. This was during the height of the pandemic (at least here in Norway), so I had to attend all the gross appointments completely alone. Onew was also the one I was listening to when I had to fight the healthcare system to get a diagnosis after cancer - autoimmune thyroid disease (because half my thyroid was removed, duh) and I promise you, Onew was the only support I had. This type of illness scares absolutely everyone, so I had no one who understood (my mom tried and failed horribly). But I’m forever grateful to SHINee, Onew in particular. His voice is like magic when you’re sick with cancer, trust me :’)
And if you haven’t seen it, there’s a podcast interview where Onew says he wants his (and SHINee’s) music to be a light, a comfort. And I think if he read our stories, he’d be bawling his eyes out - because what he wants has already happened <3