Dear Favorite Musicians (the list of your names is far to long to include..),

It’s an understatement when I say that music has a profound impact on my life, and most of this is because of you. I rely on music like someone relies on an old friend’s advice. It’s unwavering, reliable, and there any time I need it. With that being said, I sometimes take advantage of it’s constant availability and even get frustrated with it’s honesty and ability to make me feel things I’ve been avoiding in the real word.

First, I want to thank you for the unmatchable joy you have placed in my life. Giving me an album or single to look forward to pulls me through even the toughest of weeks. Honestly, the ear-to-ear grin I sport when I listen to a new song for the first time is the best feeling in the world. I can’t sit still when I do homework. This is mostly because I blare your music in my favorite pair of headphones far too often—ask my roommate, she’s chuckled at my dancing more than a few times because of it.

Nothing really compares to the ethereal experience I have attending your concerts. It’s more than a room full of fans gathering together to listen, it is an escape. My problems disappear momentarily. I can’t think of anything else but the way the music flows through my limbs. I don’t even care that I’m a terrible singer, because it doesn’t matter. Shouting the lyrics that you have poured your heart into is more than enough to cure any heartbreak I may have.

I often joke that my brain is 97% song lyrics, and it’s all your fault. I would do far better during exams if I could remember formulas more than the chorus to every song you’ve ever released. Half my advice, I swear, comes from the words you’ve penned. In any and every situation, I can think of at least two of your songs that apply. I can only dream of writing words that moves people as much as your lyrics have moved me. It’s like you have taken a piece of my heart and set it to music.

Sometimes I skip your songs. This is not because I don’t like them, but it’s because they make me feel too much. The strangely applicable words describe my feelings better than I ever could, and it hurts. There are a few of your songs that make my heart ache with longing. It’s because when I hear what you’re singing, I know where you are coming from. I know the sadness, I know the desolation, I know the unrequited love, I know the loneliness—and these emotions in which you convey through song are sometimes so potent that I feel them stronger than I feel your happy songs.

Yes, I’m the weird girl who likes to lay in the middle of the floor just absorbing the wholeness of a song or album, but it’s so hard to not be affected by the realness of each melody or chorus. Your songs have often been the subject of many conversations with friends, and even on dates. I’m sure my friends get annoyed with the amount of song recommendations I give them each week, but it’s not just a song recommendation. When I tell them to listen to a specific song of yours, it’s me lending a piece of me out momentarily. It’s not just a three-minute song to me.

Confession time: I’ve spent far too much on your albums, merch, and concert tickets. However, it is unquestionably worth it. When words fail to describe the elation or despair I feel, your music is there for me. I don’t regret a single purchase or listen because I know I am supporting you. A part of me would die off if you stopped making music. You’ve been there for me oftentimes more than my friends and family—and for that I can not thank you enough.

With adoration,

Your biggest fan