It is said so often that music brings people together, heals a broken soul, can take you back to a long-gone moment in time... you get the drift. And it's true, that music really does everything. Music ignites passion in all of us. It makes us feel all the feels. It gives us memories of laughter, of sorrow, of people you were once so sure of. Sometimes, it changes us completely.

I am in my 20s, but I vividly remember being 16 years old. I suddenly became very depressed. As a teenager, every problem you face seems like a mountain that you will carry on your back for the rest of your life. I began to struggle with the mentality that I was never going to enjoy life again. I barely had the strength to get out of bed some days and face the world. I was always, always sad. I skipped my first prom (anyone that knows me knows that alone should have been a huge red flag). My grades slipped, my teachers asked questions and even gave me an easier workload, I stopped participating in activities, I gave up.

I remember the very moment that I felt a glimmer of hope again, for the first time in months. It was sitting in show choir rehearsal after school. I had stopped participating; I would just sit in a chair and watch my peers practice their dances and singing, and I would just observe. I don't know why I was still going at that time, but I am glad I didn't stop.

My classmates were learning a new song that was fun and upbeat. I had been watching them rehearse their dance a few times. Everyone was laughing, singing, looking and sounding completely ridiculous. And something in me decided I wanted to be a part of it. I stood up from that chair and practiced with the group for the first time in a long time. I remember smiling that day and how it felt so unnatural because I hadn't genuinely smiled in forever. And as the days went on, I rejoined the living, so to speak. And it was all because of a song that I couldn't tolerate just sitting for.

I am a very happy person. I am not depressed by any means. But I do struggle with the burdens and heartaches of life, as we all do. And music continues to be what pulls me through. I have many nights where dancing wild and crazy to a song is exactly what reminds me that no matter how the day, week, or month has gone, I am okay. I have my own musical endeavors that I am pursuing that remind me of the extreme importance of chasing passion in your life.

Where words fail, music speaks.