Music Affects Our Emotions
What do you listen to when you feel dark and emo? My personal choice is Phoebe Bridgers's “Waiting Room”. Or what is something you listen to when you are getting pumped up? Mine would have to be Mac Miller's “The Spins.” Music is one of those things that makes you feel good or sad, depending on what you are feeling at that moment. The Johns Hopkins medical website states when you listen to music, your anxiety and blood pressure lowers. Music also helps you feel more relaxed and sleep better. So, if you are having a rough night and tossing and turning night, put on some nice relaxing music and see if that helps.
Not only does music help you in personal ways, but it also helps relationships. I went on a family trip this summer, and my step-sister and I rode together. She drove her big Ford 150 pickup while I sat in the passenger seat, and all the way there, we played songs that she liked and I liked, and we both had a good time. My step-sister and I are very close in age. I was born like five months before her, but we are very different, and we don't always get that one-on-one time, so this was a great time and place to connect and “update” one another on things that were going on in our lives. But one thing that brought us close was music. She is into a different genre than I am. She likes more country, and I like more Pop, R&B, and other stuff that I know she wouldn't listen to, but we both listened to the songs that were playing, and she liked some of my songs, and I liked some of hers, and it was a great time.
Music is that one person you can always count on. Like let's say one day, your friends didn't show up, so you had to sit alone at lunch. So you put on your headphones and play a Taylor Swift song because she hits the heartstrings. Or When you found out that on the test that you thought you would not do so well on, you got a 100 percent, so you maybe play Make Me Proud Drake ft Nicki Minaj. I know how hard it is to feel misunderstood or made to feel like you are the only one feeling the way you do. Growing up and figuring yourself out is scary and hard, but it's good to know that there is something out there that helps you find your way and makes you feel less alone.
Many people have different tastes in music because, well, no one is the same; we all like different things and hate different things, but music brings us together. For example, you are at a party, and there is music playing, and people go dance and show off their best moves and share memories, laughs and, at the end of the day, we all want to feel like we belong, and music does just that, if its happy, sad, or if it's just a guy playing the saxophone we all feel more at peace and more “centered.”
Ever since I was a little kid, I loved music. I had a pink and purple Hannah Montana guitar and would play it and act like I was some big star. Growing up, I didn't have the easiest life; my mom was sick, and my dad was doing his best. And being a little kid, that was hard because you didn't understand what was going on and didn't know how to feel about it, so I would put on MTV and listen and watch the music videos that would play. I didn't have many friends because I was and still am on the more quiet/ shy side. It takes me a minute to get comfortable with people, but music was that friend that wasn't judgey or made me feel like I had to put on a mask. Music was and still is a great outlet for me and others that kind of relate to me. When I was about 14 or 15, I really got into Billie Elishe like most of us probably did, and I remember on my birthday, I received two of her vinyls, and It was the beginning of my obsession. Before that, I had never really listened to or even heard of vinyl, and I would play it all of the time, and that's when I would really hear her words and understand what she was singing. It really made me feel like I wasn't the only one feeling the way I did or that my feelings were invalid.
If you ever get the chance to listen to a song or a person you like, it is a different world in a good way. In my experience, I could hear and understand the words better, but it is also nice to be able to pop your AirPods in and ignore everyone and everything around, which may bring you negativity. What I am trying to get out is that music is not just black and white. It can have color and be happy or sad. There is not just one way to listen to it or just one feeling you can have. If you are one of those people who are like, “I am not a person who is into music,” I truly think that you explore the “music world” because I truly believe that there is one song or one artist for everyone. We all need that one thing that helps us feel better about ourselves or a little pick-me-up. What is your pick-me-up song?