I have recently discovered the wonders of Spotify, an app or website that generates music. In order to listen, like most social media sites, you have to sign up. I had the account previous to this discovery, but I had never really played with it. I only had music that I already knew. I had no idea what was out there in the music world because I was so close- minded about the artists and the music I listened to. I probably downloaded the app, made the account in my sophomore year of high school, and didn't use it so I deleted it. When I redownloaded the app in the beginning of my senior year, I played with it a bit more. I saved more music that interested me, and listened to a couple of playlists, including one by Niall Horan. From there, I started to listen to the artists that had songs on his playlist and then when I went to the artist's profile, related artists came up under that artist. This is when I really started to love and appreciate music, I listened to what what the lyrics were saying, and how it explained or effected my mood.

Before discovering new music, I would scream the same songs at the top of my lungs in my car and dance to the same tunes, and I was starting to get sick of it. When I started playing with Spotify, I realized that there was music for every situation. When I feel like dancing, I go to my Jamming playlist; when I'm at the beach, I go to my Endless Summer playlist, and so on. Many people make playlists and you can "follow" theirs, or make your own.

Before I became an avid Spotify listener, I listened to music just because I liked the tune, it was high on the charts, or other people liked the song. I listened to things I really didn't love, and I didn't really know what genre of music was my favorite and was for me. For some reason, I thought I had to "find" one specific genre of music to listen to, and stick with it. I didn't know how to search for new music, and I never thought to like the music my parents listen to, because I thought it would be weird.

For me, music became my outlet to get away from whatever I was doing. Being alone with music is how I really get the chance to actually listen to it and with headphones, that made it possible. Even if I'm not by myself, I turn to my own world away from people by putting music on and just listening. Of course, it's great to experience a song with someone, share your thoughts on it, what it means to you, and how it affected. However, listening to it by yourself can give you a better understanding of the emotions behind the song.

I listen to the lyrics of songs a lot more than I ever did before. I hear the hurt in the artist's voices, the passion in their tone, and how the instruments speak as well. A perfect example of an artist that puts a lot of meaning into their songs is Ed Sheeran. In my opinion, he is a lyrical genius and the songs that he writes have recently spoken to me. He describes things that are usually simply put in a way that amazes me. In his song "Sofa," he says "resembling cutlery on the sofa," instead of saying spooning, to describe a couple on the sofa. Simple changes to a song can make it, and the meaning, so much better. Ed Sheeran's written a lot of music for various artists as well, such as Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, and One Direction. The songs he wrote for them are easy hits, but they're also very deep and meaningful.

Sometimes I like a song because of the lyrics and the meaning behind it, instead of whether or not it has a catchy tune because I can relate to them. Another thing that I now recognize is when an artist writes a song to show that they're vulnerable, which is really courageous.

My music taste is now all over the place, between Ed Sheeran, Billy Joel, Eagles, The Beatles, Justin Bieber and music I used to listen to that remind me of being a kid. No matter what I listen to or, how many times I listen to something, I'll always love music.