Think of the many times you have caught yourself singing that same song over and over because it’s stuck in your head like an unwanted glue. It seems harmless right? Just a song, no big deal. Well, when you realize that you’re not only singing a song, but also the emotions that come with it, you may find yourself a bit more cautious.
Music is not built off of only innocent ideas. It is something much deeper, and much more personal: emotions. We all feel different emotions when listening to different types of music. When I’m trying to get to sleep I never bring out the hard rock to lullaby me. Something soft or classical creates that relaxed, peaceful emotion that soon has me drifting off to sleep. But if I tried to go running with this type of music, I find that same peaceful effect come, instead of the powerful blare I need to endure that run. These different types of music cause various emotions inside us. Emotions are the basis of how we act, and what decisions we make. Therefore our music can shape the person we become; this I believe.
I have a friend who was such a funny, lighthearted guy in seventh grade before he discovered rap. In eighth grade he was faced with this contagious type of music that had him feeling cool, popular, and on top of the world. Well, before long the emotions got the best of him, and he was now cocky, arrogant, and always in a bad mood. He wasn’t the same guy I knew in seventh grade anymore. I noticed that anyone he thought wasn’t as cool as him was immediately labeled as a freak and he treated other people with no respect. This cold-hearted music changed the person he was into a cold-hearted being. It was hard to see a person with such a good personality throw all that away because of a simple bad choice in music. Lately though, I’ve seen that he’s been acting more like his old self. I was wondering how that could be, when he answered my question that week by telling me he had stopped listening to rap music. Well this proved to me that music can change a person, for the better or for the worse.
I believe that we all need to take into consideration just how much music can affect us. I believe that we all need to choose our music wisely and think about the consequences. I believe, that music will control us, if we don’t control it first.