The Transformative Power of Music

There are people who have a favorite Beatle, and then there are liars.

Show even the smallest child a picture of the Fab Four and watch their big, bright eyes linger over one face a little longer than the others; mention them around even the oldest people you know and watch them jump up from their chair to talk about the time they saw the four lads from Liverpool. All of us have our reasons for who's our favorite, and those reasons are rarely rooted in true reason.

As for me, my favorite will always be Paul, with his talent and voice and sense of humor and….anyways, you get how one could turn this particular topic into a senior thesis. But my story is not about the cute Beatle, but the quiet one, and how I believe in the transformative impact music can have.

The story starts in a classroom, where I spotted a photo of the guitarist propped against a wall. I pointed it out to the resident teacher of that particular classroom, who exclaimed that not only was George was their favorite Beatle, but one of the best artists in the history of contemporary music. In my surprise, I replied "That's funny, I've never really gotten into his stuff and besides, I've always pegged you as more of John person." The teacher rolled their eyes and got out a piece of paper before walking over to my desk and writing a playlist right then and there.

"Listen," they said, before leaving me with the scrap of paper that would soon change my life. Now, it is well to recognize that people often say how radically music altered their perspective, how a particular artist completely turned their world upside down. I had always thought such experiences to be dramatized, but as I listened to George Harrison's music, I began to find echoes of my own experiences in his music. As I began to listen closely, I could find songs like "Living in the Material World" reflect my confusion as a spiritual person in a physical world, and "Run of the Mill" capturing my frustration with overwhelming ignorance of many around me.

As senior year continued, the beauty of songs like "What is Life" and "Blow Away" shed light on the many dark times, and helped give me perspective on the bigger truths as opposed to the minor stresses in life. The truly remarkable aspect of my adoration for George Harrison and his music is that for the first time in my life, I could grow with the music I was hearing, that I could not only identify with the lyrics I heard but find inspiration in them. In the midst of trying to figure who I am, and how to deal with the pressures of reality, I could find not only solace, but beauty and joy.

Because of his music, I walk into my future a happier, more spiritually centered person. He may not be my favorite Beatle, or the cutest or even most talented, but he's certainly the one who has impacted my life the most, and I believe that music can, in fact, change one's life.