Music: my passion, my escape.

Hello blogosphere! Welcome to my first post. *waves awkwardly* I wanted to start off my blogging journey by talking about one of my most favorite things: MUSIC!!

Music has been a source of hope and comfort for me for years now. When I’m happy, I dance to upbeat songs. When I’m sad, I ponder lyrics about heartbreak. When I am feeling anxious, I listen to my favorite soothing songs. Music accompanies me on my walks around the neighborhood, on the long bus ride to and from work, and when I get ready in the morning. It is truly the soundtrack of my life.

So how and when did this love get started?

Let’s go all the way back to my early childhood. My dad is also a huge music lover, and he really wanted me to appreciate it and develop a sense of rhythm. When I was a baby, instead of reading me a bedtime story, he took me in his arms and danced. I obviously can’t remember most of this, but he’s told me that some of the artists we danced to were REM, Tom Petty, and the Dave Matthews Band. If there was a concert by a band he liked on TV, I would sit on his lap and watch with him. My dad set the foundation for me, but my own experience with music began when I started to explore my own tastes.

That moment happened when I was 10 years old. I was watching Nickelodeon after school on the first or second day of fifth grade, and a clip from Avril Lavigne’s video for “Complicated” came on. I didn’t pay much attention, but I heard the whole song on the radio at the dentist’s a month later and liked it a lot. My parents surprised me with Avril’s first (and at the time, her only) album for Christmas. I listened to two songs and that was all it took: I was head over heels in love. I listened to Avril every day at 4:00 sharp after that, and I looked forward to that hour so much. All my cares and worries disappeared. I continued to support Avril – her second album was the very first CD I bought with my allowance, she was my first concert when I was 16, and I still consider her my favorite singer to this day. I have also branched out and discovered many more artists that I love; thanks to the Internet, I even listen to music from around the world! (I especially like the French singer Alizée and the Korean pop group Girls’ Generation.) I learned that music can speak to me even if I don’t know the language.

My love of music also fostered my love of singing! Once again, Avril Lavigne is responsible for that. I used to practice her songs in my room all the time. I was in the high school choir during my junior and senior years, and it was one of the best experiences of my life. My voice improved so much, and I even took private lessons with a college student for a while. She’s a music teacher now, and I’ve been wanting to contact her so we can start that again! In the meantime, I like to sing when I’m home alone. My favorite songs to practice lately are anything by Taylor Swift and Alessia Cara!

Tell me about your experience with music! Who are your favorite singers and bands? Did any particular artist influence your childhood or teenage years, like Avril Lavigne did for me? Have you been to any concerts? Do you like to sing as well?

That’s one of the great things about music. You can sing a song to 85,000 people and they’ll sing it back for 85,000 different reasons. -Dave Grohl