Music and Reminiscing

Life isn't just about living, it's also about enjoying it. Music makes life fun, full, and entertaining. Music differs so much that no song is like another. Just like how everybody is different. Music is so important to me because it makes me happy when I need to be happy, sad when I want to be sad, and boosts every emotion that I can possibly have. When I hear a melody, it makes me ponder about my life in the past, present, and future. I've had many years to listen to music and have just recently seen the what music means to me. Music makes me think about all the parts of my life because it has made such an influence in my heart.

When I was a kid, my favorite time of the year was winter. Can you guess why? Christmas! The feeling that you get when you wake up in the morning is amazing. There was a presence in the room that made everyone happy no matter how old they were or who they were. When I listen to Smile at Snow, by Dodie Clark, everything comes back to me like a rush of wind. That song is a gate to my childhood, it's a path to less stressful days. When Dodie sings "People still dream secretly of a time they used to know. When people would smile at snow" (Clark), I think of how much Christmas has changed over the years. My childhood was filled with making cookies with my siblings, opening presents in the morning, and being filled with excitement while I was waiting to open my gifts. Christmas as a young child was the best, I was protected from the real process and I was just included in the fun events. Now I'm the one wrapping the presents, and preparing the food and it's taken part of the fun of Christmas away. Dodie sings "Now somewhere in winter misery, old excitement makes people happy and now they all know, that people will smile at snow" (Clark), and all I think about is change and hope. Luckily, we are changing part of our Christmas tradition. This year, a week before Christmas, my whole immediate family is going to Wisconsin Dells to celebrate. I hope that soon I can experience the joy that my younger family members are feeling, or that I can experience that childhood excitement during Christmas again. Apart from Smile at Snow (Clark), There is another song that makes me reminisce about my childhood. The Longest Time (Joel), has been a huge part of my life. It reminds me of when I felt sad as a kid, that I needed to keep going and that there is so much more to life than worries. It taught me that no matter what happens, you can move on and make the best of it. Billy Joel sings "If you said goodbye to me tonight, there would still be music left to write. What else could I do? I'm so inspired by you, that hasn't happened for the longest time," in these lyrics, he is meaning that even if the worst happens, that he can still make the best out of the situation and create something great. This reminds me of the hope that I felt as a kid.

Grow (Gray) is a great way to describe how I feel about my future. During the summer, I was going insane about high school. My expectation was that it would be a huge change and that I would be a like an ant in a giant's house. When I got to high school, it wasn't a big deal. The people are fun, classes are fine and I realized that I went through all that concern for nothing. Conan wrote "The cooling pavements calling my name, and the zooming street signs don't look the same, no. Don't know why, but I think I'm ready for it. Yeah, I think I'm ready for it" (Gray), I feel that this verse relates to my pre-high school experience adequately. "I think I'm ready to grow, to grow, to grow, to grow" (Gray), I used to be scared of growing up, but lately I've been okay with the idea of growing up. Conan has inspired me to be okay with moving on because I know that I'm not the only one with these feelings about growing up. When I listen to Fools who dream (Paul and Pasek), I think of all the times when I have daydreamed and thought of how my life will turn out someday. Going to college, getting a good job, becoming married, and having kids. Those dreams make me happy, they keep me going. "Here's to the ones who dream, foolish as they may seem. Here's to the hearts that ache. Here's to the mess we make" (Paul and Pasek), this is one of my favorite verses of the song because it gives me hope. Hope that there are people having the same dreams as me and that my dreams will become a reality. I have always been afraid of how my future will turn out. This song gives me hope that I can get the future that I want. That I will be able to accomplish and achieve the goals that I truly want. It reminds me of a quote that has made me go after my dreams. "You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it's better to listen to what it has to say. " – Paul Coelho, The Alchemist.

Music makes me contemplate what I am doing in my life right now. When I think of Flicker (Horan), I can imagine my life in so many different many ways. The song talks about hope and the way he sings it is both inspiring and saddening. "I remember the magic electricity, then I look in my heart. There's a light in the dark. Still a flicker of hope that you first gave to me" (Horan), he transpires that even through the troublesome and arduous times, that there will always be a flicker of hope. I've been having a hard time adjusting to everything. It feels like I'm all on my own and it's time for me to start making my life, that is a very chilling feeling. "When you know there's something missing. In the dark, we're barely hangin' on" (Horan), is the part of the song that makes me wonder about how my life has changed so much and that I've survived through times that I felt were going to ruin me. Even as my life is feeling like a boulder on my shoulders, I have people in my life to help me, that flicker of hope is starting to feel like it’s a burning fire of hope.

Music has so many meanings, it just depends on the beholders perspective. One person can think that a song is about happiness and another can think it's about depression. The song changes its meaning for every person. Music has helped me stay joyful, sane, and has helped me through hard times. I've been listening to music since I was born, it started with Twinkle Twinkle and The ABCs and had progressed to Billy Joel and Niall Horan. Music is the friend that has always and will always be by my side no matter what.