Growing up, my family would go on many long road trips from New Jersey to Virginia to visit family, and it was during those car rides that I got exposed to a variety of G-rated music. One of those songs was "Olivia" by One Direction, primarily because it was written by my sister's favorite band, at the time, and the song happened to have the same name as her. We would constantly play this song to make her feel less stressed about being in the car for hours, and to sometimes poke fun at her. Another song that played a big role for me during these road trips was "Call Me Maybe "by Carly Rae Jepsen, solely because of the catchy lyrics and simple hand gestures of a phone my mom would make at me to sing along. Throughout my entire childhood, my parents resisted playing music with inappropriate lyrics, which, as a kid, was acceptable, but eventually, I began to explore beyond that.
It wasn't until I got my first personal electronic device, an iPad mini, that I discovered YouTube and its uncensored content when it came to music. The bleeping noise was non-existent, which meant I was hearing new words for the first time. One of those videos included "Everyday Bro" by Jake Paul. feat. Team 10. While terrible music nowadays, back then it was like seeing water in a desert, as they went to curse and danced without any repercussions. I thought I was so cool for living this song, as it was made by a famous YouTuber and had lots of views. Fortunately for me, I would graduate from this once spectacular song towards a new leaf, into music I actually began to really enjoy. All of the songs mentioned beforehand had one thing in common- a major buildup to the chorus. It was from there that I discovered EDM, specifically "Still Not Butter" by Dillon Francis. This song became a staple in my playlists for working out and hype music during long school days. I didn't care about the lyrics or the singer as much as I did the beat of the song itself and the motivation it gave me. "Blinding Lights" by the Weekend was similar in that it gave me a sense of individuality when it came to the music I liked, since no one in my family knew of him. I would go on to follow a pattern of finding music "no one else liked", mainly to be different but also expand upon my minimal music taste.
For me, music has always been an outlet for distraction, but also for remembering memories and deciphering my emotions. One of those songs is "The Show" by Niall Horan, as I listened to it as I did my first eagle gathering as a freshman as a ay to commemorate the beginning of my college career. In terms of my emotions, "I Forgot That You Existed" by Taylor Swift was very instrumental in helping guide my emotions during my sophomore year of college, during a rather rougher patch in my personal life. The last three songs represent my current music tastes and favorites, from Harry Styles' newest album, Noah Khoan, and BBNO$, all of which have been newer artists for me to discover with the expectation of Harry Styles. In conclusion, music has played such a transformative role in my life that it has allowed me to feel more human.
