I'm not great with thank you notes but I think this calls for one. So, here goes...

Dear Music,

I know you don't hear this as often as you should, and I will be the first one to apologize for it. I know I've done it, taken advantage of you every single day without thanking you from the bottom of my heart. Really, I'm eternally grateful to have you in my life, and I'm sorry that I don't let you know that.

You're used and played every day of every year on God knows what electronic contraptions, and it's been that way for way longer than I've been around. Let me ask you this one simple question: How many people have ever thanked you for being in their lives?

Exactly. Case in point.

You've been there for me during my worst days. When I felt like the world was falling down around me, you're a great workout partner, you sing me to sleep every night and you're nice enough to wake me up in the morning by way of the alarm on my phone when I have to get my day started. As a matter of fact, you're helping me write this right now while you blast some Rihanna from my iPhone.

Thank you for getting me through those bad breakup days where all I can stomach to listen to is Adele's first hit single "Chasing Pavements" and those long summer nights around a campfire with friends lip syncing the lyrics to "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz. You're especially appreciated during those trips to the shore on a hot July, Wednesday afternoon with the windows open, with hair down (and blowing in my face, might I add) and with "Hell Raisin' Heat of Summer" by Florida Georgia Line pumps out of the speakers, shaking the rear view mirror. Moments like these are the ones that make us feel most alive and care-free.

Thank you for going to the gym with me. Granted, I don't go as often as I should, but I can always count on you to distract me just long enough to run that extra mile on the treadmill. (Side note: I guess I can also thank the headphones I use, too. Thank you, headphones.)

Thank you for making my 15 minute shuttle ride to class on the other campus a full on jam session in my ears. It makes the time go by faster and honestly, helps to put me in a better mood before sitting in class for over an hour.

Thank you for making homework less miserable. For real, you help me concentrate on it, and it gets done much faster.

For the times when I should be doing homework but I'm not, thank you for making it really easy to dance around my house, dorm room or wherever. There are definitely times where homework gets boring, which calls for a random dance break with some excessively loud music. (Second side note: If you are in college and in need of a dance break, just be aware of quiet hours and what floor of the building you live on. Trust me on this.)

Thank you for introducing me to U2, Journey, Luke Bryan, AC/DC, Rihanna, G-Eazy, Miley Cyrus, Sia, Fetty Wap, Coldplay, Hozier, Madonna, The Police and so many more.

Finally, thank you for being my escape from reality. Seriously, life is hard, and it throws curve balls when you least expect them. With just one song, I can travel back to the 80's or the 90's. I can pretend I'm lying on a beach in the middle of the summer while I look outside my window and watch a thunderstorm. I can be in a different country, wandering the city streets, meeting a nice foreign friend and kicking off a new romance.

Music, you have the power to bring me to any place in the world, at any time, with the press of just one button. Without you, I'd be stuck, stuck in one place with nowhere to go, nowhere to run to and nowhere to dream of going. Even when every song I hear may be the wrong song, I am still forever grateful to have you in my life.

So, I thank you. Everyone thanks you. We thank you for being a part of our every day lives, and we will never forget to thank and appreciate you again.

Love always,

A Daily Music Listener/Fanatic.