Music makes me happy. I love music. Life is a lot more colorful, inspiring and fun with a song in it. My mom always said that as baby, she knew I would love animals (completely accurate) and music. According to her, before I began talking, I sang – or at least babbled in a tune. Now don’t make any assumptions, just because I sang before I said “dada” does not mean I am any sort of singer… But I do love to sing along, that’s for sure!
Recently, I’ve been to two concerts. A few weekends ago it was NEEDTOBREATHE, and this last weekend, I saw Garth Brooks. Two very different types of music, both with different meanings to me.
NEEDTOBREATHE is a rock band with a southern, Christian style. I’ve listened to them for years and their music has accompanied me through various times in my life. I remember listening to their album, The Reckoning, on our drive back to Washington after my short-lived attempt to attend college in southern California. It was a time of fear and unexpected change… much like where I am now! It’s a long story for another time, but I ended up going to Seattle Pacific University for a quarter, before finding my home at Washington State the next fall – which is exactly where I needed to be ♡
Songs I listened to during that time and period of transition resonated with me. I’ve found music helps you reflect and understand that others have similar experiences and emotions. It’s reassuring to know we’re not alone. Put on a song, listen, sing along… I’m sure you’ll understand.
I also grew up listening to Garth Brooks. From the radio on our way to horseback riding lessons to the stereo in our kitchen at home, songs like his are ones that take me back to simpler times. I remember being a little girl and just LOVING his song, The Dance, and boy oh boy, did I belt it when he performed the other night!
Music takes you to moments. When I hear Tom Petty’s Learning to Fly, I’ll think of my uncle and remember a warm summer night in Wyoming. Kip Moore’s Dirt Road takes me back to being at Watershed with my best friends, watching him perform as the sun set over the Gorge. Bob Marley and Van Morrison remind me of the “kitchen music” my parents played when I was growing up. Wagon Wheel by Old Crow Medicine Show? Well, you might as well just put me in our VW van cruising the country roads at sunset.
Life would be bland without music. Life would be less relational without songs. What are the songs you love? The ones you blast over the car stereo when you’re driving down the road on a sunny day? The ones you play when you’re happy? When you’re sad? When you’re with your best friends and with your family?
Music isn’t only the songs or the sound – it’s the experiences, the people you share them with and those feelings that make your life more inspired.
Embrace the music in your life!
“Music is the soundtrack of our lives.” -Dick Clark
living LAINEY 
Leave a comment