Music is something that I have always held very close to my heart. No matter where I am, or what I’m doing, I am listening to music. Whether it be physically through my headphones, or simply taking in the tunes of mother earth, music seems to narrate my life on an everyday basis.
As a kid, I remember being in the back seat of my dad’s red jeep Cherokee jamming out to Queen, the Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, The Eagles, Los Lonely Boys, the list could truly go on and on. These are bands that have stuck with me throughout my entire life and that have been by my side through the best and worst of times.
Move in day freshmen year at La Salle, I distinctly recall the last song that played before I pulled into the Saint Neumann dorm parking lot. It was “Otherside” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Evidently, this was a milestone in the thrilling and compelling life of Jen Yodice, and I will always have that song to look back and reflect upon all those feelings I felt entering this new chapter.
Last summer, volunteering in South Africa, the cars we took to project weren’t exactly the most high tech. We had one audio player and one cassette tape. Every day, for thirty days straight, we listened to “Cheerleader” by Felix Jaehn, “Big Girls Don’t Cry” by Fergie, “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift, “Same Love” by Macklemore, “I Really Like You” by Carly Rae Jepsen, and a few others. Typically, these wouldn’t be my songs of choice, however now whenever I hear them, only the fondest and most euphoric of memories come flooding into my brain.
My senior year of high school the album “Pure Heroine” by Lorde was released. I swear, my two best friends and I would drive around my little Connecticut town aimlessly listening to these 10 songs on repeat; laughing, smoking, and being the rebellious teenagers we were. I can never listen to Lorde without feeling the sudden urge to text my friends from home and see what it is that they’re up to and how they’re doing.
We all have those songs that undoubtedly force us to take a quick (and sometimes wistful) stroll down memory lane. If the song “Move Your Feet” by Junior Senior comes on I can practically smell the sand in the air as I daydream about summer days at Lavallette beach down the shore.
Music strikes our emotions and triggers our memory in ways that our other senses cannot.
