For those of you students out there that are struggling to turn in assignments on time, resist the urge to procrastinate, or simply wish for something to ease the pain for a few hours while you trek on, I'm going to let you in on a little secret that can help you through your suffering. Are you ready for this? I'm not sure you are. Nod if you're ready...Yeah, I know, I can't actually see you, but it's for dramatic effect, and I guarantee you that if you play along, this article will be a lot more bearable. Okay, so you nodded, right? Okay! Here it is. The big secret to success is...music!

Yeah, yeah, I already know what half of you are going to say: "Well duh!" or "Yeah, kinda figured that one out ages ago." But hey, it works, and I think it's high time someone gave music the shout out it deserves. I can't even begin to tell you guys how many times music has saved throughout my life, not just in college, but in high school and middle school too. It's honestly amazing how incredibly focused it can make you in times of pure stress. In a way, it actually inspires you to do work. You're so entranced by the music that you simply can't help yourself but get stuff done while listening to it. I've done this for online exams, quizzes, short stories and ALL of my papers so far. And before any of you ask, yes, I even use it to help me write some of my articles on Odyssey--this one included, because hey, why not?

It all depends on the type of song you listen to. If you want to do nothing but stay on track, no breaks in between, go for anything instrumental. These things are pure magic. They keep your mind on track at all times, and whenever they increase in terms of intensity, so do you. It's pretty amazing, honestly. If you want a bit more of a challenge, go for something with lyrics. It all depends on what in particular it is that you're working on, though. For instance, say you're working on math, you might want to choose your song a bit more carefully because, with all of the other things in math that you have to look for and solve, putting extra words and phrases in your head, might not be the best thing to do. It's a bit different for writing, though, and might even improve what you're doing. Say, you're just starting on a short story that's been brought up by the teacher multiple times in class and already turned in by more than half of the class. Instead of panicking like most would, put on a song that relates to your situation--"I Will Survive" immediately comes to mind--and while it might not get you through all of your story, I guarantee you, it'll help you through most of it. Same goes for things like essays and article reading.

Music also helps with memorizing things. If you have a play that you really want to audition for, but have no idea which monologue to use, and you've been procrastinating all throughout the previous week and the deadline for them is just around the corner now, popping in a CD--those are still a thing, right?--and jamming to some tunes while you speed-memorize, can actually help you retain the information better. Trust me on that one, it has gotten me through several close calls in the past.

Now I'm sure most of you reading this have already figured out that what I'm saying is no new groundbreaking discovery, or even recent news. These methods have been around for a good while. The thing is, with everything happening around us so quickly, be it with school, home lives, or just with life in general, we sometimes tend to forget about the things that can help us get through it. We become so resigned to having stress in our lives, we often forget that the solution is way more simple than we initially think. So the next time you have a paper, project, or any other stress-related issue, just remember that a song could make what was first a terrible day, or experience, a much more bearable, or even enjoyable, one.