I'll admit.

I have weird music tastes.

The majority of my Spotify playlists are a mixture of musicals, Fleetwood Mac, Carole King, and even some Lady Gaga. Occasionally, I will listen to Imagine Dragons.

While these artists are seemingly very random and separate from one another, there is one thing that ties them all together for me. My playlists only consist of ballads by these artists--I literally have a playlist called "Sad Songs."

For me, music has always been a catharsis.

I almost always find myself in situations that are highly stressful and also where I cannot allow my true emotions to come to light for the sake of seeming unprofessional. When I get home at night, all I want to do is wrap myself up in a blanket, put on my Beats, and listen to a playlist filled to the brim with sad songs. Listening to the music helps me to get these negative emotions out.

I don't listen to sad music because I'm depressed.

I listen to sad music so I don't get depressed.

The sad music allows me to have a catharsis of emotions; it helps me to deal with what I am experiencing in the real world. By listening to the music, I find myself in the world of the song. To be clear, I'm not avoiding my problems— I try my best to never do that.

It's more of a distraction rather than an avoidance.

That's what I listen to sad music.