College is amazing in so many ways. It is a new start full of freedom, responsibility, independence and the beginning of finding out who you are. It's a place where you find people just like you and you start to learn what you want of yourself. Along with all those things comes the stresses of college. You have first papers, midterms, finals, long research projects, all-nighters, balancing a social life with school work, a job, maybe a boyfriend or girlfriend, squeezing in that call to mom that you sometimes just don't have time for on top of the emotional wreck you become due to sleep deprivation and lack of food.

Stress is the lingering ghost; just when you think it is over, he comes right back. 80 percent of college students are often stressed out according to Melissa Cohen a licensed Clinical Social Worker in New York City and 20 precent feel stressed out most of the time. It happens to the best of us. It is an issue that messes with everything and at times you can begin to feel hopeless. There are so many ways to conquer it, however; creating music is one.

As a college freshman, I am on my third month in college at the half way point between midterms that passed and finals coming up. It has been a joyride honestly up until now. I major in music education with a concentration in clarinet, which is basically a double major (fun). I also live on campus to alleviate the stress of driving through traffic every day. While trying to alleviate stress, I have accumulated more in a sense. Having been dealing with separation anxiety and feeling that I never do good enough on whatever task I am dealing with. It has been a really hard process but there has always been one thing to help me through my parent’s divorce, bullying and multiple breakups; creating music.

Creating music is a therapeutic process that helps to relax the mind and clear itself of the negative thoughts. Most people, if not all, enjoy listening to music of some kind, rap or pop maybe country or rock. We all have our go-to songs to deal with the breakup, the makeup, the party and the celebration. Music is about emotion and it’s connection, creating it is one step further. It technically deals with dopamine, a hormone that deals with the emotions of feeling good; largely connected to spending money and eating food it also is connected to falling in love. Music provokes dopamine hormones in the brain to be released, ultimately leading to an improved, more relaxed mood.

When learning an instrument you need to be very focused on the task at hand. You are trying to figure out which key on the piano is C rather than "oh my gosh I have that paper due" or "I need to study for that quiz." Making music takes great focus and thinking in order to improve. From the moment you sit down with that instrument, you are beginning to forget about the stress and anxiety from before instead you are trying to make sounds in order to play the song you wanted to learn. As you get better you start to develop confidence and pride with what you've accomplished. You can now do something you couldn't a week ago, it's rewarding. Music is the one thing that doesn't have to be perfect to feel a sense of accomplishment and feel good about the work you've done. You may become bummed out if you don't get an A on that psychology paper but you feel great when you can get hot crossed buns on your instrument.

Not only does music distract you from the anxiety and stress before playing but through the dopamine being released in your brain it puts you in a better mood for the time after. You are more relaxed and happy, you feel less tension on your body holding you down. I chose to make music my profession because at a young age dealing with the ups and downs of life making music always made me happy. I could be in the worst mood and then go to practice and come out happier than ever before. Music is powerful and for college students who feel trapped in their studies, it's a great escape. You don't need to become a pro, just a little a day helps. By playing you have improved mood, more confidence, stress and anxiety decrease, a new talent, an escape, a support system that is not going to leave you and you have a happy, safe place.

If you feel like you've tried it all and nothing seems to work; you feel no one understands try music. Music is therapeutic, it is fun, it is enjoyable to listen to and 100 times more enjoyable to play. Anxiety and stress are no match when it comes to something of pure joy and love that can take you higher than before.

If you are interested in trying to learn an instrument here are some resources.

Beginner Music Books

http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/series/standard-of-e...

https://www.amazon.com/Alfreds-Basic-Piano-Library...

https://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Absolute-Beginner-Ab...

Also browse online tutorials if you are more of a visual learner

Instrument Rentals in Montclair, NJ (don't jump to buy, they ca be pricey)

http://www.montclairmusic.com/rentals_and_repairs....

If you aren't from Montclair, a search for a local music store is a perfect way to find rentals

If you become more serious and can afford it look into:

Lessons

http://www.montclairmusic.com/

Same thing applies if you aren't from Montclair, NJ; chances are where you are looking to rent also has staff for music lessons to help you advance.

Happy Playing!