It is a proven fact that music can help reduce anxiety and stress, but I think people underestimate the true powers of music on their mental health. Music has always been a huge part of my life. I’ve been around it my whole life and have been singing since I could talk. My mom tells stories of how I used to stand in the living room and just belt out whatever came or mind or as she likes to put it I was “singing to the cheap seats.”

Writing and singing songs have always been my go to outlets when I’m feeling upset or particularly stressed. It eases my mind to be able to put my emotions and troubles into words before adding a melody. The words seem to flow off my tongue when put into song and the weight lifts right off of my shoulders. When I move with the rhythm, all the stress and tension melts off of my muscles. I’ve never felt more alive and free than when I’m on stage pouring my heart out into the microphone for anyone to hear. That feeling is what saved my life.

In high school, as many teenagers do, I felt lost and confused. I grew distant from the people and things that I loved. I spent a lot of time in my room alone and I was missing practices for the sport I put my whole being into. Looking back now there were a lot of things that could have factored in. It could have been the fact I had lost more than a couple loved ones in just a couple years. Or it could have been an unhealthy relationship that simply tore apart my whole sense of reason. Whatever it was something simple, or the combination of it all, I felt my world crashing. Throughout all my uncertainty, anger, pressure, and sadness there was one thing that I never lost. I never lost my love of music.

It started as singing along to songs that I related to, but it grew into writing lyrics and verses that I would sing over and over until I had it exactly how I wanted it to be. I went from throwing in a few meaningful lines to telling a whole story through a song that could bring me to tears. I went from wanting to sing just so people would know that I could to wanting to perform to show the strength and passion that I gained in each word. Each time I hummed things became clearer. Each time I opened my mouth to rehearse a new verse the weight of the world became a little bit lighter. Each time I walked out on stage and put myself out there I felt my whole being grow stronger.

I’ve since graduated and finish a year of college and still to this day music is my go to. Whether it is listening to the radio, singing, or writing a new song there is always at least one way that it is able to brighten my day. I pray that music will always be a part of me because it is one of the most amazing things to happen to me. Each and every day music saves my life.