Music tells stories. It documents things. Who you are, where you've been, what you've seen and how you've felt, all through any given moment in time. Music can connect you to a moment, or a person. Music can create and store friendships. It can bring back all kinds of memories. Ever had a moment where you heard a song you haven't listened to since you were a kid? Then suddenly *BOOM* hardcore nostalgia. Memories flood back to you. Things you didn't even realize were actually little puzzle pieces leading up to the person you are right now. I don't know about you, but when that feeling of nostalgia hits me, I feel so thankful. I'm thankful because music is there to remind you that there were many things you had to go through to be where you are now, and it's a part of the journey you're taking in the future. It can create a timeline for your life.
Personally, music has always been significant in my life. I grew up listening to absolutely everything. From old school classic rock to pop, stuff in both Arabic & Spanish, musicals, classical music, you name it and there's an 89.9999% chance that I grew up listening to it. Every single thing I have listened to, has been significant at any given moment of my life. These are moments distinctly marked by a song. For example, "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey will forever be the camp song for me. I will also never forget waking up in the middle of the night when I was little to having a mariachi band in my grandparent's living room in Mexico City playing "Canta Canta Canta" by Jose Alfredo Jimenez. My grandfather use to always say "No es fiesta si no hay mariachi" (it's not a party if there isn't a mariachi band). Music has changed my life, as it has for many. It ignites a fire in me that no one can put out, nor do I want anyone to.
I have realized recently that a lot of my favorite artists are my favorite artists because of their stories that led to using music as their outlet. The passion that they themselves felt through their favorite artists have driven them to create the same passion in someone like me. There have been moments in history changed and defined by music. Music has connected people and created bonds that truly last a lifetime. I have even been to shows related to The Beatles and seen how it brings generations closer together. Music speaks volumes. Music is a reminder that you are definitely not alone, and that someone somewhere feels just as you do. Whether it be expressed through words, bass drops, or guitar riffs, there's a movement that only seems to be getting stronger. Music has been the outlet people needed to express themselves. There's a domino effect tied into it all, a connection you can't break. It's the feeling, the adrenaline, the love, the passion. Music is in every word you speak, poem that's recited, sound you hear and letter you write.
I've made a new friend recently who has opened both my normal eyes and my music eyes to a whole new kind of musical world. It was while talking to him, the inspiration for this post came about (shout-out to him & to that moment when inspiration strikes). I'm very open to learning and listening to all kinds of music because you never know what it will do to you. My junior year of college will definitely be remembered as the year electronic dance music came into my life. I know that years from now, even if he's not in my life anymore, whenever I listen to Eric Prydz, I'll be reminded of my friend. That makes me happy now and I know the memory of this will also make me happy later. It makes me happy because I know that through this music, I'll always have this current moment in time, reminding me of such a phenomenal person and reminding me of the kind of person/friend I want to be toward others. This has happened with many people who have been in my life. Whether it was from music they introduced to me or having a "best friend song" in middle school, or simply a song you would always jam to with someone during a road trip. It has a way of storing memories I have never experienced through anything else.
I am a writer. Music is my diary. Music holds my memories, my feelings, my thoughts and my passion. Music helps me define who I am as a person, as I believe it does for many. Music has the ability to give the world a lot of the love we neglect to give and receive from one another. I know many don't understand, or will care to understand where I am coming from, but because of who I am as a person, who music has helped me become, I choose to voice it regardless. I choose to express myself as the writer I am, as the artist that music has taught me to be. This is my diary, my voice, and my expression. My music, my words, my memories, are me.
-Val
-Val
