Songs of a Lifetime

           In a constantly evolving, busy, world we all are constantly in a comfortable struggle to understand one another. This is easier said than done. The common cliche is that "a picture is worth a thousand words" and in many ways this is completely true; however, there is another way that tugs at my heart strings a little more. Music. Music has been and always will be a grand part of my life, but due to a recent Facebook post that is being shared across the globe, it has been brought to my attention that songs can help us understand each other. If you think hard enough, we all have a song that hits home for us or that makes us think of a special someone when we hear the lyrics; regardless, this could be the very way to better understand your best friend. 
           I was one of those people who shared the Facebook post and I did get a few comments of songs that people requested I listen to to better understand them. Aside from these comments, one of my best friends texted me asking about these songs. Honestly, it took me quite a bit of thought. I had multiple titles, people, and lyrics flash through my mind, but in order to sort through these thoughts I broke it down into three categories for this specific example (other people and other categories still run through my mind as I type this). My three categories were: My song (the song that hits home for me), my song for Kelsey (my college bestie), and a song for a best friend back home (this one is quite personal so it won't be elaborated in this post). 
           My song for Kelsey took quite a bit of thought. To fill part of it in, Kelsey and I met on Twitter and have become best friends at college. I couldn't ask for someone better to experience the great thrills that occur away from small town Seymour, Wisconsin. I searched my YouTube and Spotify and still couldn't find the one I was looking for. I was puzzled, but I was far from willing to give up. I went to my songs that are on my iTunes and after scrolling through hundreds of lyrics and albums I found the perfect one... "Home" by Phillip Phillips. It starts out saying "Hold on to me we go, as we roll down this unfamiliar road" this hit it right on the head as Kelsey and I are both headed down paths pursuing a career and degree in our areas of passion. Neither one of us have the slightest clue as to where we are headed in our futures, but what we do know is that "home" will always be when we are together whether that be in person or over FaceTime, because lets face it (no pun intended) she will just keep calling until I answer anyway. 
          If I was thinking that Kelsey's song took a lot of thought I never considered finding a song for myself. After much listening and thinking I found a song that I very commonly listen to, "Stand by You" by Rachel Platten. After discovering this title, I made my decision to send this off to my friend and claim this as my song that hits home to me and she informed my that I had indeed made the correct deicision. 
         I guess the point I'm getting at with this post is that music impacts people world wide and can sometimes be the definition of an individual and can help express the parts of us that words can't quite get at. They tug the heart strings that aren't often noticed and they express the great love for who we are. 

Keep Calm and Listen to a song, no matter what that may be for you! 

A.B