I cannot think of one day in my life, even my childhood, where music didn’t move me in some way, whether it be emotionally or physically. As a kid I used to dance and rock around the house with my mother to music. I distinctly remember our old record player with the mustard yellow cover. She’d pull out her vinyls and play artists from Elvis Presley to Olivia Newton John. Then there was my dad. I can remember sitting in the back of his old Bronco while bands like Led Zeplin or Pink Floyd blasted through the speakers. My love for music stems from parents, and my musical taste was broadened at an early age between their diverse taste.
As a kid I wasn’t a big fan of most of what my dad listened to. But as I’ve matured bands like Pink Floyd make it to my top favorites list along with artists such as Sarah McLachlan, Van Morrison, Adele, Tchaikovsky, and Ella Fitzgerald. Gone are the days of New Kids on the Block and Boys to Men which is what I preferred way back when. As a singer and writer I enjoy the different aspects to what each song, genre, and artist bring to the world of music.
But, despite all the different genres I listen to and artists I love, my true appreciation for music comes from within. Of course I appreciate the talent behind it all, but what I really love is that it has the power to take me back to a specific moment or time in my life or make me feel a certain way. Music has the power to move me, emotionally and physically. There’s nothing better than throwing on my iPod to Lady Gaga or Usher and going for a run or a bike ride. It’s music that seriously pumps me up and makes me wants to move my body. Emotionally speaking, music has gotten me through some of the toughest of times, my parents divorce, serious bouts of anxiety, and the sudden tragic death of my cousin four and a half years ago. Music has helped me through so many life events and it saves me on a daily basis. They say, “Love is like oxygen” and although I believe that to be true, I also think Music is like oxygen. Whether I’m singing it or listening to it, I simply cannot live without it. Music moves me and music saves me. I’d be lost without its power and it’s my oxygen to get through whatever the day brings me. Good, bad, happy, sad, ugly, emotional, or mad; music is my oxygen to keep going and moving through life. No one could ever take away the music that lives in my heart and in my soul!
“Music is the universal language of mankind.” ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
SLK