Whether it be a break-up with someone we had once loved, the death of a family member, or any number of emotionally straining events, music has helped William Peace University students through tough times.
Andrew Anderson, a junior majoring in sports medicine, says music helped him get through his frustration after a season-ending injury kept him from playing basketball his senior year of high school.
“I think music and me being in a band had a big part in helping me get through that struggle,” said Anderson. “It helped keep me calm and gave me the extra motivation to focus.”
Anderson also expressed how music had a big influence on him. This could be seen as he was having fun jamming to music with friends as a way to put positive vibes and energy in the air before his interview.
Music is a massive influence on the major elements of today’s culture such as sports and clothes. But it has also become a massive influence on us as individuals. No matter what kind of music we listen to the messages, sounds, and emotions it creates become embedded within us and it creates who we are.
Ryan Echavarria, a senior majoring in simulation and game design, said music helped him through tough times such as major breakups and deaths in the family.
“Music is extremely important to me. Listening to it is kind of a way for me to vent and express really who I am as a person and the culture that I grew up in,” Echavarria said. “So I feel like music has really developed me as a person.”
For some people, music is a way to time travel and send them back to a time where every day was a good memory in their lives. Josie Rygelski, an undecided freshman student, said that the music that she listens to makes her remember the good times at an old job of hers where she other co-workers would listen to Beach House while working.
Katlyn West, a junior majoring in simulation and game design, says that sometimes she listens to music in order to set what emotion she is wanting to feel.
“I feel a ton of emotions when I listen to music,” West said. “Usually I listen to a certain type of music depending on my mood. For example, if I am looking to be happy I’ll listen to something that is upbeat. Usually, when I am trying to be upbeat I will listen to k-pop.”
The inner soul of us as a person and the culture in our life is created by the music around us.
The inspiration it brings makes us climb from the bottom to the top and push through any obstacle that blocks our way. We carry that influence of music within us wherever we go and sometimes we do not even notice it. So maybe we should look at ourselves and see what has music done to shape us.
