Everyone has ways of coping with stress, mine is listening to music. Music connects the soul to words, develops more confidence, and unites us with others. Events such as concerts, raves, festivals, and many more bring people with similar music tastes together to celebrate their common interests. We live in a world where music plays a vital role in adapting the mind and uniting different cultures into one. Many teenagers, including myself, find motivation and inspiration through listening to music.

Music is something that I’ve always found myself using as a coping mechanism. During quarantine, I found myself diving deeper into music and its roots due to my excessive time on my hands. I didn’t think of it as anything that could benefit me throughout my life but as I started to become familiar with lyrics, I began to relate my life to many songs. As I was becoming an avid music listener, I got myself a pair of airpods which began to occupy my ears for most of the day. My airpods barely left my ears, even while I slept they stayed in. Music is a great distraction from school work and personal problems for me because it allows me to shift my attention from overthinking. Music is something I can always count on because I can rely on it as a source of hope that never vanishes.

As someone who is mildly bipolar, music can instantly influence my mood. I have one particular playlist named My Rotation on Spotify that includes all the songs I love from completely different genres including R&B, rap, blues, and pop. The first song that plays as soon as I hit shuffle will heavily influence my mood for the day. If a song plays that doesn’t match the mood of the morning, I will feel heavily annoyed, especially when I press skip and another song of the same disposition plays. Some songs can get repetitive and don’t communicate as well as they did before however, it is hard to replace them due to the lack of time I have now and because they’ve helped me througout hard times in the past. There are only a select few songs that can influence my mood in a positive way. You may be asking, why don’t you just find that song in your playlist and play it? Well, hitting shuffle is a way to foreshadow how my day will turn out.

Kendrick Lamar is one of my, if not my favorite artist as his music conveys a story through his particular use of words and composition. I recently went to one of his concerts and it made me feel a feeling of happiness that I’ve never felt before. The huge amphitheater, flashing lights, and overall mood of the bustling crowd and staff were rewarding since I went through such a hassle to get the tickets. I remember being in awe while watching him perform, with the celestial lighting, intricate details of the stage and costumes of the dancers, and ambience of the audience was astronomical. A factor that added on to this experience is that I haven’t been to a concert ever since the global lockdown in 2019 so it was fulfilling to watch one of my favorite performers perform live.

For me personally, music is the best method to boost my mood, escape from reality, and ease from stressful situations. During the recent years, I’ve found myself turning to music regularly. Recently, It has been hard to enjoy things I once did, school work, extracurricular activities, and tennis have been taking up most of my day so it has been hard to take a dive back into music and explore different songs. Something I have observed when I listen to my favorite songs, I get completely absorbed into them. Music is still the most important factor in my day because it allows me to focus on my school work without feeling overwhelmed. It sources my motivation and has gotten me through many difficult times.