One of my best friends, Brandi, and I recently collabed on a blog discussing the empowering connection music has. Her and I also share a personal piece of our own experience with music, how it has become therapeutic, how it has saved our lives. The first half of this post is Brandi’s piece, the second half mine. I hope you enjoy đź–¤…
Harmonies Create Harmony
music is therapy
Out of all the things in life that tries to set us apart from each other, there has always been a constant that never fails to bring people together, and that constant is music. I think that Macklemore described this perfectly when he said:
“Music is therapy. Music moves people. It connects people in ways that no other medium can. It pulls heartstrings. It acts as medicine.”
One perfect example of how music can bring people together is the story of how I met one of my best friends and fellow bloggers, Derra Sabo! One day as I was driving into town and I heard the song “Stressed Out” by Twenty One Pilots play on the radio. After mulling over the lyrics and admittedly bobbing my head to the tune I became really interested and went home and looked them up.
I listened to song after song and it felt like the lyrics that were being sung had been ghost written by me. I felt so many different emotions while listening to their music ranging from the feeling of being understood to finally… inspiration. When I listened to the song Kitchen Sink a few verses struck chords in my heart strings and I wasn’t able to ignore them.
“Then write something yeah it might be worthless, then paint something yeah it might be wordless. Pointless curses, nonsense verses, you’ll see purpose start to surface.”
I felt those lyrics in my core and thought, why not try? I’ve always had a passion for writing but had stopped for years because I felt unmotivated and uninspired. After I had stopped writing for so long I began to wonder if I would even be good at it anymore, but hearing that song made me realize it didn’t matter. As long as I tried, I’d eventually see something form out of what I wrote that mattered to me and pushed me forward.
After falling in love with their music I wanted to reach out and meet other people who were interested in them and so I took to social media and created a Twitter account (which as cliché as it sounds was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made because of the friends I’ve made from there). After being on Twitter for a month or so I met Derra and after a few weeks of talking about anything ranging from food, to music, to the cartoons we love we became friends. I honestly wouldn’t want to imagine my life without her because she’s such an amazing person. She is inspiring, optimistic, and can spin words into literal gold.
when all else fades, music remains
Another thing that music is able to do is act as a companion and unconditional listener whenever times in life are hard. There were many points in my life when music was the only thing that kept me together, and whenever I fell apart it buoyed me back up. Throughout my childhood and teenage years, I battled with many things and some of them were external but most of them were internal. Certain circumstances caused me to have to change schools frequently and the last one I attended, my high school, I was faced with a lot of bullies. I was different, I held different beliefs than most everyone there and was viewed as some sort of specimen instead of a person.
There were so many nights when all I wanted to do was leave. Not just run away from home but from everything in life. I didn’t want to keep existing and going through the hell that was each day. On those nights I plugged my headphones into my mp3 player, put them in my ears and let myself be transported far away. Most nights ended in crying drowning out everything else around me, but some nights ended peacefully with lyrics from artists like Marilyn Manson to Nirvana and I was soothed in knowing that I was not alone in my thoughts and feelings, and reassured that one day everything would be alright.
Throughout life music has always picked me up, carried me, and now it’s giving me the opportunity to meet great friends and I will forever be grateful for it. I’m going to include a playlist below of some of the songs that have helped me through my darkest hours and helped me celebrate life. I hope that every one of you are able to find your favorite artist(s) that you can resonate with and feel at home with whenever you press play.
· Otep– Perfectly Flawed
· Twenty One Pilots– Kitchen Sink
· Marilyn Manson– Coma White
· Imagine Dragons– Believer
· Fall Out Boy– Champion
· All Time Low– Missing You
· John Lennon– Imagine
· The Beatles– Let It Be
· Coheed and Cambria– Atlas
· Eminem– The Way I Am
· Nirvana– Come As You Are
· Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Ft Mary Lambert– Same Love
A Lyrical Chain Reaction
music…
a beautiful duo of lyrics and sound that causes a chain reaction of shakin’ your groove thang or singing in the shower as though you were at a concert.
Music is a magical elixir that cures bad days and broken hearts. Music even strikes up conversation amongst strangers. A few weeks ago as I was purchasing a couple of body sprays from Bath and Body Works, the cashier noticed my Twenty One Pilots wallet and before you know it, we were chatting about their music, the concerts we had been to and even how their music is quite inspirational. Music does indeed connect us all.
the connection of music
In fact, this blog is a collaboration with one of my amazing friends who I met on Twitter through a music group chat. My sister from another mister, Brandi!! She is an amazing human with a golden heart. Last summer I was invited into the “Strife Magazine Group Chat” where myself and other music lovers would like and share Strife’s articles. The GC was created so that we could all introduce ourselves, get to know each other and before you knew it discussions about all kinds of bands and genres were setting off. That GC is where I first met my bday twin, the gif queen, Jen and then I met the one and only Jamie, who is studying to become a nurse, fabulous!! Through these two kind humans is where I met “CD” aka Jeff, who is hilarious with the dad jokes and the forever Awesome Brandi!! I think Brandi and I pretty much chat every day. We all live in different states yet it feels like we all live just down the street from one another and all of this came about through the connection of music.
At a young age, I learned how music was more than just lyrics and sounds. As a youngster, my Dad introduced me to all of his favorite bands such as The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Led Zepplin and many others. From there I started developing my own list of my favorites from Blink 182, Green Day, No Doubt, Eminem, Snoop Dog, Good Charlotte and others. For me, music was like a magician, some days I just rocked out like a girl who just wanted to have fun and other days I needed the instruments to soothe my tears while the lyrics mended my young heart. Some may think that I am insane when I say that music is the next best thing to actual therapy.
There are songs that I jam out to in the car with my best friend and then there are songs that numb the thoughts that spin through my mind at two in the morning as I’m starring up at the popcorn ceiling. A quick, “Hey Google, play my 5 minutes playlist” and Tyler Joseph begins to inspire as I begin to write, or, Eminem begins to rap as I pull out all of the ingredients I need to cook up a delicious spaghetti dinner (with garlic bread of course).
music saved my life; while writing has kept my life saved
I have written in a previous blog of mine explaining that I was bullied as a kid and teen due to the rare disorder I was born with. Being called names and laughed at on a daily basis starts to get under your skin after a while. One can only ignore hurtful comments and glares for so long before the day comes when everything you’ve buried six feet under over the years explodes from under the earth.
I found myself in a place of pitch black darkness and stared teary-eyed at a reflection I no longer loved, one I began to not even recognize. Days were spent simply getting through the day while trying not to cry in the bathroom or in my Spanish teacher’s class were I ate lunch every day. Nights were filled with silent tears and even a good silent scream every now and again. Silence was key so that my family wouldn’t hear me, for I kept all of the negativity of school to myself. A burden I felt I had to bare alone. Soon those sleepless nights of muted tears had morphed into nights pondering what it would be like to die. Thoughts of how I could kill myself, thoughts of all of my pain disappearing with one quick, deep swipe of a knife to my throat. Nights filled with thoughts that no sixteen-year-old should be thinking, thoughts no human of any age should be thinking.
When I was seventeen, I did attempt to make all of the pain that resided in my mind disappear. A moment of being home alone presented itself and I, unfortunately, took advantage. This wasn’t a moment of having guts, this wasn’t a moment of actually wanting to die, this was a moment of wanting all of the pain to just stop. It is quite a nerve-wracking feeling when you find yourself shakingly holding a knife to your throat. It is a frightening feeling as just a few drops of blood trickle down your neck and it’s the most terrifying feeling when you hear the garage door going up signaling that your family is back from the movies. Then hits the frenzy state where you pick up the knife you dropped, wash it off, run to the bathroom to tend to your neck and wipe the tears away. Ridding yourself of all evidence that’s attached to that doomed afternoon.
music to numb the pain
That night I didn’t know what my next move was going to be, all I knew was that I never wanted to end up repeating that “scary as shit” moment again. As I got ready for bed, I placed a new cd I had bought into my Discman and sat on the floor beside my bed as it played. Fall Out Boy’s “Evening out with Your Girlfriend” was the album; “Pretty in Punk” was the song. The curing combination of Patrick Stump’s soulful voice, Pete Wentz’s screamo back vocals, and Andy’s insane drumming skills began to aid in the healing of my damaged teenaged mind. Where I lacked the ability to stand up to the bullies and say my piece, music chimed in. From music becoming the foundation of my sanctuary, writing became the light that made it glow.
To this day music aids in the coping with my anxiety.
It inspires blocked thoughts to release themselves out from my mind and onto my laptop screen..and it connected me to some amazing human beings. Don’t forget to head on over to Brandi Myers page and check out the amazing blog she wrote. She is such an amazing writer, go show her blog some love 🖤
music: a beautiful duo of lyrics and sounds that cause a chain reaction like no other…
Here is a small playlist curated with a few of my go-to’s that have gotten and still get me through…
Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls…
I Miss You by Blink 182…
Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day…
Space Bound by Eminem…
Kryptonite by 3 Doors Down…
The Pros and Cons of Breathing by Fall Out Boy…
Believer by Imagine Dragons…
This is Gospel by Panic! at the Disco…
Screen by Twenty One Pilots…
At My Best by Machine Gun Kelly…
Stay Frosty Royal Milk Tea by Fall Out Boy…
Tragic Endings by Eminem…
Home by Blink 182…
Fairly Local by Twenty One Pilots…
Church by Fall Out Boy…
Bishop’s Knife Trick by Fall Out Boy….
HeavyDirtySoul by Twenty One Pilots
and pretty much everything by Pink…
