This essay by Vanessa Vega, a senior at Fremont High School, won second place in the first COMMfest High School Essay Contest.
The question is: What speaks to me? Music.
How does music speak to me? Music speaks on its own, without words. It reaches out and touches every dream of mine. Music varies in styles, but all of them bring a message to believe that the pain will go away, also that you can be whoever you want to be in life. Being different is a blessing. You are who you are, and there is no one better. No matter what we see in life, or no matter what the heartache, there’s a song to pull us through and makes us feel better.
Personally, I have never left home without listening to a song in the morning, and usually the first song I hear sets my mood for the day. For example, an upbeat song would probably result to me dancing in the middle of the road on the way to varsity, and a love song would most definitely set my mood to sad, depressed or deep in thought. At first I thought it was just me, but I watched and observed everyone else around me and came to the realization that it wasn’t only me who felt this way. I don’t know exactly what it is, but there is definitely something special that occurs whenever music hits our eardrums.
Music is all around us. Everywhere we go, whether it is at home, in the mall or at a train station, there will always be some form of music entertaining us and keeping us company. Music has even become another language to us. Just by logging on to Facebook, you can already see the number of people quoting song lyrics to express their feelings. At some point I believe that people use music as an escape from reality, an escape from everything that they are afraid of. I have learned to care and love music throughout time. It is something I know I can always count on, no matter how the day is.
Whenever I can’t breathe, I can put my music on and the words and melodies of the song take away all the stress and make me feel strong. Music makes me feel alive every time I listen to it. Throughout my life, I have realized how my spirit speaks to me through music. My day starts with the nice sounds and melody of a song that wakes up my sleeping blood in the same way that hot coffee wakes someone up. The sound of its harmony coming out of the speakers travels through my ear and strolls through my veins and into my brain. Then it sends the message to other parts of my body and makes me dance with the beat. I seriously love to feel that way. It helps me express how I’m feeling and occupies my time. If a song has a certain meaning or experience to it, then I can relate to it in my life. It doesn’t matter what kind of music it is, it’s the feeling it gives me that matters. Music energizes me and fills empty moments of my life as well as keeping me company. A song brings back a specific moment and set a picture in my head, more like a memory. A song can also take us all back to a specific memory that occurred in our life.
Music has become something I can’t live without, I feel so blessed to have something so powerful and inspiring that can help me relieve my stress. So many times I have wanted to cry and run away, away from all the pain, but my love of music runs so deep that it gives me the strength to go on. Music is my pride and joy, my love, my soul and my life.
