music’s impact on my life
If you know me personally, or maybe just keep up with me on social media - *cough cough* my instagram stories - you probably know the role music has played in my life and just how important it is to me. I'm almost always listening to something and I form bonds with certain songs and artists. I have a song or songs associated with just about every single memory I have, and all my emotions have their own playlists.
For the longest time, I thought this was something that everyone could relate to, but it turns out that music just doesn’t play a big role in every single person’s lives. Yes, everyone likes music (or at least I hope they do), but it's just music to other people. Not to me, to me it’s more than that. That's why concerts are so important to me. They’re not just ‘for fun.’ They’re important. Live music and concerts are such a spiritual experience for me. Every concert I've ever been to has changed me in some sort of way. Big or small. I’m sure that’s going to sound weird to some of you, but to the people who know exactly what I mean... let's connect. Anyway, as we all know, concerts have been put on hold for the time being. Unfortunately. I had a list full of concerts I was looking forward to attending this summer and beyond - and everything has been canceled or postponed. So to all my concert obsessed pals out there, I'm crying right there with you, we will get through this... hopefully.
Music is the perfect way to emphasize something you're feeling - if you're sad, there are songs out there that will make you sadder. If you're feeling good, there are songs that will make you feel even better. Music also has the power to change a mood (at least for me) - If I'm happy and I listen to a song I associate with unhappy memories - BOOM I'm sad. And the opposite is true as well, I could be crying listening to a sad song, but the minute I change it to something more upbeat, I feel powerful again. So why wouldn’t something that has the power to change my mood like that not be important to me?
Concerts were a place where I could push out the feelings and the energy I had surrounding certain artists or songs and release them in a place that was judgment-free. Because all those other people there dancing beside me, are also concert obsessed, and they understand how important music is too. Maybe the same songs don't affect them in the same ways they do me, but they still get it. Concerts are truly one of the best ways to meet other people who feel the same way about music that you do, and it's amazing to meet niche people who can be concert buds with you forever. And I can't even begin to express how awesome it feels to meet someone who shares the same passion and love for music as you do, ESPECIALLY the same genre of music. And being sent songs by someone else is something that's unmatched in other areas of life in my opinion. Maybe you think that’s quirky, but to some of us, it’s a love language. Music is a great way to express feelings or emotions when you yourself can't quite come up with the right words to say to someone. Music says things that words just can’t.
Music gets me through a lot... It got me through my last breakup when nobody else was there for me (because they couldn't be, F U COVID). It motivates me. It makes me excited. It makes me feel like I can relate to others when I feel like no one else understands how I feel. So maybe some people don't understand why I listen to music all the time or why I am so upset that my concerts were canceled or postponed, but some people do understand - those are my people. I feel the pain right alongside you and I have my fingers crossed we can all go to concerts again very soon because we all want to feel that again.
Concerts are not just about appreciating music, they're about feeling something.