No one can argue that music is one of the greatest things ever created. From the classics like the Beatles, Sinatra, The Rolling Stones, Prince, Michael Jackson and many more to the new music we hear today, music has always been there. Whether it’s blasting Britney Spears, One Direction or Journey in your room and jamming out, singing in the shower or dancing at weddings, music can make people feel emotions that they’ve never felt before. Here are three ways that music saved my soul.

1. Choir

Music has a special way of bringing people together. Being in a choir, for instance, is an example of that. I’ve been singing in choirs for the last nine years of my life, and I wouldn’t trade any of those years for anything. The people I’ve met, the friendships I’ve made and the music we’ve sung are some of the greatest memories I have had in my life—from singing Eric Whitacre in San Francisco, "Circle of Life" in the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall, the Hallelujah Chorus in high school concerts to finally singing in college.

The choirs I have been in have become such close-knit families to me that there is no way that I would’ve gotten through high school without them, and the same goes to all the great music teachers I had along the way. A big shout out to all the choir families out there!

2. Singing on my own

I’ve been singing probably since I could talk. It’s my crutch for everything. I am a strong believer that everyone needs an outlet to get away from things for a while; singing just happens to be my outlet. Whether I’m in a good or bad mood, I sing all the time. My family and friends probably hate me for it because I literally never stop. If I like a song, I consistently listen to it until I know it and can it sing it on my own (if you’re a singer, you understand). I’ll listen to it on repeat for weeks if that’s what it takes.

I love to sing the songs of all different artists, especially the oldies like Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Etta James and Dion, because I grew up listening to that type of music with my grandparents. I love to push myself to learn songs, because that just means more of a variety of music that I know.

Singing is the main thing I have stuck with for most of my life because it’s the best way I know how to express myself. There is a never-ending lists of songs that can always describe how I am feeling when I cannot put it into words, and that’s my favorite part. Being able to explain how I feel by singing lets out so much stress and calms me down.

3. Church

I’ve been going to church since I was six years old and the worship has always been my favorite part. I’ve loved it since the first time I heard “Lord I Lift Your Name on High” when I was six. I love the hymns like "How Great Thou Art", "It is Well" and "Great is Thy Faithfulness." I love the feeling I get in my heart when I hear worship music. I love singing it too. From singing the hymns to singing one of my favorites, "How He Loves" by the David Crowder Band, it makes me feel a sense of peace that I have never felt with anything else. Worshipping God in the best way I know how is by singing, and it is how I’ve learned to have a relationship with Him.

Music has saved my soul from all the ups and downs in my life, and for that, I am so grateful.