While walking around the University of Georgia's campus, I see students walking around with ear buds, listening to music in between classes. I also hear music downtown at the large selection of music venues that Athens provides to the public. And there's always people driving down South Lumpkin Street with their car speakers booming with music.

But why? Why are we so obsessed with music? Yes, other than the fact that it's fun to sing to your favorite songs with your friends. Music is a great outlet to add fun to the mundane life and to fill the silence, but it can also be beneficial to one's health.

Music can also help one's memory. According to an article by UPMC Health Beat, scientists believe people suffering from Alzheimer's disease and dementia may be able to remember certain things using music. This is because music stimulates areas of the brain that perform emotions and long-term memory.

If you think about it, this makes sense. Do you ever listen to an old bop that reminds you of your middle school cringe-worthy years? Yeah? We all have songs that bring us back to a certain memory in our life, whether it be a positive memory or a negative one. Maybe you have a song that your ex loved, and now you can't listen to it. Or maybe your mom used to sing you a song as a child, and it brings back good memories.

People also are brought together through music. At concerts all across the world, random strangers come together and sing to their favorite songs. Music is a way for people to put their differences aside and join together. Many people make friends because they have similar interests in music. People who don't know each other very well start bands together in order to share music. Also, music is a great way for people to express themselves and highlight issues that they and/or other people around them have been dealing with in their lives.

Music is good for one's mental health. Many scientific studies have shown that music can cause a wide range of emotions from sadness, to happiness, to anger, etc. For example, the combination of the lyrics and the tempo or beat of a song can make you feel a certain way. According to an article by the Conscious Lifestyle magazine by Barry Goldstein, a study using music was done to study emotional awareness in autistic children. The study found that music was hands down a better way for the children to understand certain emotions than verbal communication. Music tends to evoke certain emotions more affectively than words. I know for me, I tend to feel like I'm in a funk if I listen to sad music for too long. That's because music is very powerful on both our heart and our mind.

When we are in a good mood, we tend to be in better physical health as well. The UPMC Health article mentioned how music can improve not only your mood, but also help relieve stress, improve sleep, increase self-confidence, decrease negative mood, and improve energy. In other words, music makes you a happier, healthy human being, and so that's why we should keep those ear buds in and keep jamming away.