You just had one of the worst days in your life. You failed a test, your parents are irritated with you, or even you just had everything that could go wrong WENT wrong. Now, think about what your go-to stress reliever is.

Some people enjoy reading a good book to immerse themselves in the imagination of their own minds. Others go exercise to vent their stress. I have heard baths can do wonders to relax muscles. However, one of my go to stress relievers to make myself unwind is listening to my favorite music.

It is one of the greatest medicines that allow us to escape reality. I would say it has a sense of “magic,” but I am hesitant to utilize that word. There is a reason why it is not used because this word tends to give a sense of unknowing, mystery, and surprise! Nonetheless, I can definitely consider music as a magical experience because whether you are bitter and angry about something, a calm, serene song can tame even the harshest demons.

When I put my headphones into my ears, I feel like my mind becomes a blank slate. I can make my emotions whatever I want. I can close my eyes and imagine the music. Have you ever heard of synesthesia? Basically, this lovely word means that you can see patterns and certain colors when you close your eyes. Although music is not visually seen, there are some people that do associate colors and patterns (swirls, diagonals, etc.) with the beat and the singer’s voice of the music.

What is amazing is music is such a complicated sound! It causes different effects depending on the individual. You have these times where music causes happiness. After all, we have the song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams to prove that. It has such a spunky beat that it is quite difficult to not sing and dance along with it.

Not only does music make you happy, it makes you feel emotions such as love. Whenever we are in dazes, we become smitten with the idea of a fantasy. We imagine what our ideal lover will look like and we listen to all of the love songs that exist in music. One of my favorites that provide this feeling is “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith. After all, it is one of those songs that makes you imagine a slow dance and wanting to be lost in their eyes. You definitely don’t want to miss a thing.

All of these different songs trigger emotional responses in different ways. They can provide shocking healing effects and even create memories within the songs. What is magical about music is that it has this amazing power to bring together communities, cultures, or even the world. We always hear these songs where popular artists gather together to sing for a cause. An instance I would like to point out is “We Are the World” when singers from the '80s gathered together to sing to raise money to feed and relieve starving children in Africa.

We all create these playlists in order to pump us up, to slow us down, and to even release anger that is within us. Music has this connection to our emotions and allow us to express ourselves without necessarily expressing our true thoughts to others.