My entire life, people around me have told me that too much of anything is a bad thing. But now that I’m older, I can say for sure that that’s not always true. Is it mostly true? Yes. Too much Netflix isn’t good. Too much social time isn’t good—especially in college when we have to remember to focus on our GPA. Too much coffee isn’t good because it can dehydrate you. Too much money isn’t good because it becomes something you live for. All of these things are things I enjoy in life and always want more of. But, I’m aware that too much of any of these things isn’t healthy for me.
But, there’s one good thing in my life I can never have too much of, music. I can safely say that I can never listen to too much music. It’s a form of therapy for me. The lyrics resonate with me and teach me about myself. Growing up, I was surrounded by country music. And even still, it's what I’m constantly listening to. The beauty of country music is that every song is a skillfully crafted story, and there are different types of stories, or songs, for different moods or different times in your life. This is why country music is my default. No matter what kind of day I’m having or what kind of mood I’m in, there’s a song for it.
But it’s not just country music that I listen to. I listen to Contemporary Christian music for this moments when I need to rely on Him or be reminded of His presence in my life. I listen to Hamilton, because, why wouldn’t I? That music is so fun and plus, it’s right in line with my interest in American history. I also listen to top 40. With all this music and all these stories, I have to listen to it often so I can appreciate all of it. Because of this, I can never listen to too much music. And let’s not forget, Taylor Swift. Even though her actions in the recent past have been a bit questionable, I still feel as though she was writing about my life when she was writing her songs.
There is a rarely a day that I don’t listen to music at my will. It’s therapeutic. It helps me come to terms with my emotions. It helps me put things in the past and move on and look forward to what life has in store next for me. Music helps me live in the moment.
When people tell me that too much of anything is a bad thing, this is my response. For the most part, that’s true. But when it comes to music, there’s no such thing as too much. I do appreciate life’s quiet moments, especially on days when I’m feeling a bit more introverted than usual, but ultimately, music is my coping mechanism.
So, what’s something in your life you can never have too much of? Because I have faith to believe, we all have something. To those who say too much of anything is a bad thing, let's agree to disagree.
