Lately I've realized something strange. A correlation, and quite an interesting one at that; a correlation that happened to be affecting my entire life, and how I lived it. I came to the realization that, at times, I would just stop playing music in its entirety. Not in the car, not at the gym, not even during studying. And that was strange. Like most people in their early 20's, music is usually omnipresent in my life: from the second I open my eyes in the morning, to the minute I turn my light off that night, music is usually bumping somewhere in the background.

After becoming aware of these strange, music-less phases, the correlation became clear: whenever something negative would come up, or I had a mountain of thoughts to sift through, I would shut myself off from music, so that I could "think" more clearly. What I hadn't realized was what a positive impact music had on my life, and the benefits that I'd be cut off from should I give music up. In an attempt to improve my mindset, I ended up mistakingly making it worse. This got me thinking about just how important music can really be. We all love it, of course, but we might even need it.

Why do you listen to music in the first place? When you really get down to it, it's because of how it makes you feel. Specific types of music make you feel different ways; it's almost like a drug. There's a genre for any and every situation: get pumped for the gym music, chilling with friends music, just-got-off-work-driving-fast-windows-down type of music. Music acts as an amplifier; whatever mood you happen to be in, music intensifies it tenfold. The happiest moments of your life probably have songs tied to them, right along with the saddest ones. Music makes the sun feel brighter, the colors look more vivid, the drive spent stuck in traffic shorter. You see, just like dreaming at night, music is a necessary escape from reality. Throw those headphones in, your whole world changes right in front of you. Music is everything, man. And I'm not giving it up again.