For as long as I can remember, I’ve listened to music. I’ve listened to it when I wake up, while I brush my teeth, getting ready for class, walking to class, and also while writing my articles for FreshU. Music has been my faithful companion for a long time, and this is my thank-you, my thank you to music for being by my side when not a lot of people were.

I started my musical journey as a young child, one of my favorite songs was a lullaby my grandmother used to sing me to help me fall asleep. This song resonates with me as I always think of the memories I have with my grandma for singing this song to me. Transitioning from lullabies with my grandmother to actual music was a significant part of my life.

Around the age of nine, I received my first iPod. It was a one-gigabyte iPod nano in white, with a pink case. I felt so cool, knowing that I could listen to my own music, and not have to be dependent on the radio. I remember that my “first” favorite song was “Bad Day” by Daniel Powter. Man, whatever happened to that guy? I used to listen to it on repeat because for some reason, the lyrics of the song resonated with my nine year old mind.

Music then, had started to become my one true companion, and I’m glad that it did. I realized, that whatever emotion I was feeling, I could find a song that would correspond with it. As a child, music was there, but it wasn’t really until I reached my teenage years that I’d started really paying attention to the music I was listening to and the words that were being sung.

I can remember that at the end of middle school and the start of high school was really when I could feel the lyrics of songs resonating with me. One of my favorite shows, "One Tree Hill," played a song “Naïve,” by The Kooks in the twelfth episode of season four. Ever since I heard that song, I knew that it would stick with me. Not only is a) Luke Pritchard a babe, but b), the lyrics are just perfect. He describes that he knows that a girl is out to get him, but he loves her anyway. Not that this has ever happened to me, but just the way he sings it makes me feel as if I understand where Luke is coming from. Music has always been a form of release; an art form that utilizes instruments, and one of the most powerful instruments being the voice.

I want to say thank you to music, for always being there for me, and being a good support system when I went through difficulties in my life. Music has always been a companion to me, and it’s not going to change anytime soon.