Music is arguably one of the greatest things about the world. I say this because with music, almost every person on Earth is able to find some kind of music that they enjoy, and what they like about music is totally different from the likes of someone else. Personally, I believe that music is a defining characteristic of our identity.

As I’m writing this, I’m listening to Ed Sheeran's “Divide,” which is what I usually listen to when I write. This album puts me in the mood to write because of the progressions in the notes and rhythms. It adds to the aesthetic that I feel should be associated with writing. This is my own personal preference, and what’s so cool about music is that for other people they might think that a totally different genre of music would help them be able to write.

In terms of aesthetic, I have different playlists for every single mood or situation I could possibly be in. I even have playlists that I associate with weather. My own personal music taste varies from classical, Romantic Era specifically, to rap. I love that I’m able to wake up some days and turn on two completely different genres of music and still like both genres equally.

Classical helps me to get in the mood of studying because it’s like background music and adds to the mindset I need to be in to concentrate. Specifically, I love orchestral music to study, especially George Gershwin's “Rhapsody In Blue.” The sounds of the different instruments coming together to create this perfect harmony of movement is incredible to me.

Rap, on the other hand helps me to get amped and I always listen to it before I have to take a really important test or compete in a skating competition. My favorite rapper by far is Childish Gambino because his raps are just so clever. Also, I can always get excited to his song “Sweatpants,” no matter what the situation is.

Another thing that is so cool about music is that there’s constantly new music being created that can diversify our own music tastes. One of the greatest enjoyments I have is stumbling across a new song or artist that I hadn’t heard of, and completely immersing myself in the music.

I think my obsession with the idea that music can be a defining characteristic of ourselves, is that I play a musical instrument and sing. These defining characteristics of myself definitely help me to appreciate the different types of music that there are in the world.

When I play my viola, I usually play more Baroque style music which has helped me to understand the evolution of music and see how far music has come. When I sing though, it’s usually Broadway, which I love because there’s just so much you can do with a Broadway song. You can take that song and make it your own, and sing it in a way an artist has not done before or you can sing it in a way that’s a combination of how other artists have sung it.

Music is something that helps people to form friendships. One of the first questions I am usually asked when meeting someone new is “What kind of music do you like?” I think this is because people believe that there is so much music in the world that people assume you’re bound to like a certain genre or song in common.

Music is so diverse in that there is a song for almost every situation or feeling that could possibly be thought of. This is inevitably one of the most mind blowing concepts for me to wrap my head around and I’ll continue to be mind blown because of the capacity of influence that music is able to have on in the world.