Music can make you cry, or it can make you smile so hard it hurts. It can bring up ghosts from the past, or it can make you feel so good you have to get up and dance. The effect of listening to your favorite artist or song can bring an endless flood of emotions. For this article, instead of me telling you only the reasons why I love music, I decided to let you tell me. I asked friends and family, “What is your favorite thing about music?” For people who are music fanatics, and for those who love music but maybe just not as much as the fanatics; you can relate to the following replies.

1. “It can change your mood instantly” -Sarah Myers

Music has an influence on our moods more than we think. Suffering from a heartbreak? There’s a Taylor Swift song for that.

2. “Have you ever got the chills from a song? That's my favorite part. How a song can hit you so deep inside like that.” - Liam Fitzpatrick

Sometimes when listening to our favorite songs we almost feel the words coming out of the artist’s mouth. Or we can feel the beat drop in our hearts all the way to our stomachs. That’s not just listening to music, it's feeling it.

3. "It helps me escape the real word." -Sarah O’Malley

Headphones in, reality out.

4. "A song can put your feelings out into the world when words can't. For example, a song can say what you want to say better than you can." -Angelica Casado

Nothing beats finding a song that describes exactly what you’re feeling. It’s almost like your heart wrote the song itself. Words can be hard to find, music finds them for us.

5. "Music makes everything a little better, no matter what it is.” -Alex Bohnstedt

Even on days when absolutely nothing is going right, you can rely on music to boost your mood.

6. “I love that music can fit any mood you're feeling” -Callie Eggert

Pump-up music for working out. Slow music for a rainy day; you name it, there’s a song for it.

7. "It can take you back to moments in your life.” -Dallas Krueger

Some songs can make us laugh or dance. The best songs are the ones that take us back to when we first heard them.

8. "Music really sets my mood and gives me motivation.” -Kayla Bishop

We all have a study playlist that makes studying lose a little of the “dying” part.

9. “I like how music has their own story behind them. If you ask the composer to interpret the piece, it's just simply beautiful." -Johnny Childs

Listening to a song that tells a story from start to finish almost paints a picture in our minds. It’s a way the artist connects with their listeners and part of why we love artists so much. There’s always a meaning behind a song.

10. "My favorite thing about music is how it brings people together.” -Emily Scorzo

If you really love an artist, there is nothing like bonding with someone about mutual favorite songs. It’s a different level to bond on.

11. "I love that one single song can mean so many different things and messages to different people.” -Alyssa Damato

Depending on the person and what their past has been can drastically change a song. If you are in a stable relationship you might hear a love song and happily be reminded of your lover. Yet, if you just got out of a bad relationship it might make you want to smash your speakers.

12. “That feeling when you go to a concert and get goosebumps just having that connection with your favorite artist. Magical.” -Sonya Balaji

There is something purely magical about communicating with an artist without ever actually talking to them. The music speaks for itself.

Music is a universal language. It's a form of language that somehow we all can understand. Lastly, a shout out to Ed Sheeran, your new album “Divide” is the reason I thought to write this article.