Music helps me escape from the reality I live in.

First things first, I wish life came with background music. Can you imagine just how entertaining that would be? Not to mention it would help to understand what’s going on sometimes.

You see, music is a huge part of life. Some of us walk around all day with headphones in our ears and our favorite tunes blasting as loud as we can stand. We know the lyrics to all of our favorite songs. We listen to melodies on repeat until we hate them. We still know songs that we sang to in our childhood years as our parents drove listening to the radio. Music is one thing that always sticks with us and something we can never lose track of.

Maybe that’s why so many people get lost in it. Music is life; that’s why our hearts have beats. It can easily change a mood from sad and depressed to calm and happy. Sometimes it’s easier to fit in with the melodies and lyrics than actual life. It’s easy to say that music is what feelings sound like.

And let me tell you, when your heart is breaking, you hear all the sad songs. When you’re in love, all the love songs are about that person. When you’re depressed, it’s easy to relate to. I’m not going to lie that I have my own taste in music. I fluctuate in all reality, but one thing is for sure: I like songs with meanings. I like songs that I can relate to and play a million times over until I know every single word.

I have my own “Understandable” playlist that has every song relating to my life and how I am as a person. I listen to that playlist on repeat when I’m feeling down and I just need a song that understands me. I’m cheesy and have created a playlist for my boyfriend of every song that reminds me of him or of ones that we always listen to in the car. It’s one that I play a lot just because I miss him sometimes. I have my punk music playlist (yes, I go in those phases) because bands like Sleeping With Sirens and Pierce the Veil definitely know how life is. I have my rock playlist because that’s where my heart will always be: with bands that are like Three Days Grace and 30 Seconds to Mars. And yes, of course, I have my absolute favorites playlist of every song from when I was a child up until now that I have absolutely loved and will never grow tired of.

You would be surprised in some of the music people listen to. You would be surprised just what you can find out in the lyrics to someone’s favorite song. Music tells it how it is better than anyone ever could. That’s why we have our favorite lyrics set to the backgrounds of our phones and why we doodle lyrics on the side of our notes in every notebook. It’s why it’s tattooed on our skin, forever in ink. It’s why we constantly share those songs we love with other people.

Music is a universal language and I’ll give you a hint: Listen closely to the songs people play because the lyrics speak the words they fail to say.