Music From The Heart

According to Victor Hugo, "music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent." Therefore, a better understanding of oneself or of others may be to look into what music they enjoy or what music represents them. Not only is it enlightening to hear music from other people or cultures, but it is also important to understand the stories connected to that music and those people. I have put together a 'playlist' of songs that I think represent me along with a description of the stories behind this music in my life with hopes that others will enjoy learning about me through music.

My Playlist, My Self

1)    I Don’t Dance by Lee Brice

2)    Little Bitty by Alan Jackson

3)    You’re My Little Girl by Go Fish

4)    Sk8er Boi by Avril Lavigne

5)    Here it Goes Again by OK Go

6)    Pray For You by Jaron and The Long Road to Love

7)    The Lazy Song by Bruno Mars

I believe these seven songs represent a fair amount of who I am and show my personality in a way. Most of these songs I first heard on the radio, but “I Don’t Dance” is my boyfriend and me’s song and “Here it Goes Again” is from one of my favorite videos. “Little Bitty” is a song from my childhood that I enjoy and consider to be my ‘theme song’ due to my lack of physical height. As for “You’re My Little Girl,” I enjoy hearing and dancing to it because it is my father and me’s song. Avril Lavigne is my favorite song artist and her song “Sk8er Boi” has been my favorite since I was young, especially because it represented my naive attitude. Both “Pray For You” and “The Lazy Song” represent who I am today as a college student: lazy and spiritual with a sense of humor.

This Playlist briefly summarizes my personality, attitude, and beliefs from my past and of the present. I am a daddy’s girl at heart and, therefore, my father and me’s song holds a deep meaning in my heart. The song “I Don’t Dance” is one that my current boyfriend of five months picked to be our song and it makes my day when I hear it on the radio. “Here It Goes Again” reminds me of when I would look up videos all day with my friends in high school and how much we would laugh; those were our favorite times together. Often my sense of myself has been that I don’t mean as much as other people mean to me. Therefore, this selection of songs, in a way, mirrors that belief as most of them are connected to other people in my life.

               Actually listening to this playlist may tell people that I have a wide variety of tastes in music, which is true; I enjoy most music very much. Also, someone who listened to this playlist might believe that I am humorous. Although I would like to think that I am a humorous person, I am not always funny, but I do often do clumsy things that make people laugh. The things someone who listened to this playlist would not learn about me is the stories behind the songs in my life. Thus, those who listen to these songs might assume that I am a bit unorganized or that I am somewhat complicated. As for who I really am, I would say I am a bit complicated, but I am definitely organized; I just happen to enjoy a lot of differing genres of music.

               The phrase “something larger,” in my mind makes me think of heaven and of a creator. “Pray For You” is a song that I listen to and connect to due to the fact that I am religious. On the other hand, it is also a song that shows that I do not always think of using that faith to serve for the greater good, but to serve myself. This song, for me, is not all about the humor though; I truly believe praying is a healthy way to share how you feel and to ask God for comfort through hard times. All in all, music, for me, is a way to connect to others and to express my personality and beliefs. Therefore, this playlist, in my eyes, represents who I am and what that means to me.