Did you know there are actually five things needed to survive? Air, food, water, shelter, and music. Music is one of earth’s most valuable resources. It has so many purposes. Parties have it, you play it in your car, you play it even while you’re sleeping. How could we survive without it?

As I walk around campus, there is rarely a person who doesn’t have headphones in while they are walking to class. You can’t drive around and not hear a car blasting some song with incredibly heavy bass. Every restaurant I go to even has music playing. My point is that everyone listens to music. It’s what gets us through our day-to-day activities. 

If you know me, you know that I always have my headphones practically glued to me. Literally. I have these things on me like I would die if I didn’t. It’s one of those things that you feel naked if you don’t have it. I would rather be late to class than walk there with no music.

Music has always been a huge part of my life. It’s been a way for me to express myself as I was growing up, especially during my teenage (angst) years. I use music in the same way that everyone else expresses their emotions; happy music when I’m feeling good and not-so-happy music when I need to get out my not-so-happy feelings.

To me, it’s always been an escape, a way of running away by never leaving my bed. The perfect song just had a way of whisking me off to a place where there were no troubles in my life. Where I could just be in the moment.  

Growing up, my parents educated me in the world of music. My Dad listened to your stereotypical dad rock and heavy metal bands. Artists like Five Finger Death Punch and AC/DC eventually worked their way into my regular playlist. And my Mom listened to the “emo” genre of music. She listened to Linkin Park, Panic! At the Disco, and Green Day. She also introduced me to my favorite band of all time-Fall Out Boy.

Fall Out Boy is definitely the artist I most enjoy listening to. They have music that fits every mood. In all honesty, their music is made for the angsty and the rebellious. But hey, who’s to say we aren’t all angsty and rebellious.

I say I have a favorite band, but does anybody, really? I listen to whatever comes on, and rarely do I not enjoy what’s playing. I really just like music in and of itself. I like how the rhythm feels and how heavy bass scratches that one part of my brain I can never quite reach. 

I’m the type of person that learns every lyric to every song. Half because I like the lyrics and the other half purely because I like to impress people with the ability to sing four songs in a row and not miss a beat. I will always have more room in my brain to learn new lyrics, even if it means that I can’t remember my English vocabulary words or the name of that one teacher I had years ago.

But seriously, what does music mean to me? It means being able to dance and sing. A tool to escape. It’s also something that can help me focus (I’m listening to music as I write this). I like to think that it’s a necessity to survive. Kind of like air. If it’s anything, it’s something I cannot live without.