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By Joe Wilson
She had a point. Anyone who knows me knows that I love music. Growing up, I used to sing in my church choir. As a teenager, I took guitar, piano, voice, and even banjo lessons after school. And over the years, I also accumulated an extensive collection of Barbra Streisand albums that I would play at full volume on my Crosley record player (much to my siblings’ chagrin). Music still plays a significant role in my life to this day. I keep an acoustic guitar beside my bed, and I pick it up to strum a few chords whenever I need a quick break from my homework. I try to go out to the theater to see concerts and musicals as often as possible. I also listen to my favorite albums on my headphones whenever I’m doing chores around my apartment (I’m currently listening to Carole King’s Tapestry as I write out this blog post).
I used to think my affinity for music was merely a hobby. I thought, because music is designed to entertain us, it must be in some way unimportant. However, the older I become, the more I appreciate the value of music in my life. For almost all of us, the music we listen to serves as the soundtrack to our lives. The songs we love play in the background of many of life’s events, from the momentous to the mundane. Moreover, music has the power to evoke strong memories in us. We’ll always remember the music we listened to on the car ride to school and during the first dance at our weddings. Even as the years pass away, we can hear a song playing on the overhead speakers in the grocery store and be transported back in time. We may forget the names and faces of the people of our youth, but hearing a song can make us feel the emotions just as vividly as if they occurred yesterday.
Yes, music is designed to entertain us, but that doesn’t diminish its value. We all have those songs that make us want to sing at the top of our lungs and dance like nobody’s watching. But music means much more to us than that. Our favorite singers, whether they be Luciano Pavarotti or Taylor Swift, uplift us when we are blissfully happy and comfort us when we are hopelessly devastated. Our favorite songs have the power to inspire our imaginations and tap into the deepest emotions we can seldom express with words alone. Music has the power to bring back memories of loved ones who are no longer part of our lives.
For these reasons, I venture to say that music is not just a significant part of our lives; it’s absolutely instrumental!
Joe Wilson is a McConnell Scholar in the class of 2025. He is studying political science and history.