Music or Magic

I’m sure you’re no stranger to the phrase, “You are who you hang out with.” Or maybe you’ve heard, “You are what you eat.” If humans are creatures of habit, then the correlation between what you habitually think and how your emotions habitually cycle through you should be common sense, right? Have you ever noticed how when you wake up annoyed, you notice every little thing that annoys you? Or when you’re in a rush and somehow every single traffic light is red?

Whether or not you’re a glass-half-full type of person doesn’t necessarily matter. There is scientific proof that your thought patterns determine your reality and not the other way around. A study done by researchers for Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience details a connection between positively affirmed participants and more activity in different areas of the brain. You can find the study at The National Institute of Health if you want to read further. Essentially, the study concludes that creating a habit of positively affirming yourself would have a slightly positive effect on the way you navigate through the world. Training your brain to see things positively may not be easy, but it’s not impossible.

What does all of this have to do with music? Sit and think for a moment: how much easier is it to cry with a sad song playing in the background? Why do college bars play “All I Do Is Win” on game days? It’s because music has a direct effect on your mood, especially if you are consciously absorbing the lyrics and composition. I mean, my gym song is “I’m Sexy and I Know It.” I could go as far as to argue that each genre and sub-genre have semi-specific niches because of how music affects how you see the world. If you are only ever listening to songs that talk about how dreary the world is, you’re more inclined to genuinely think your life sucks because you are pumping your brain full of negative affirmations.

When I was a freshman in college, I went through arguably the lowest low I had ever reached, and I completely lost my mind. I was misbehaving while out with my friends; I would walk home by myself and get home to cry for hours. I had reached a point where I was so sick of myself and couldn’t understand how people could bear to be around me. One of the first things I did when trying to heal my life was stop listening to sad music, not because I know what I know now, but because I literally had no tears left to cry and was still extremely fragile. The first thing I would do every morning was play “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” while getting ready in the mirror. I created a habit of surrounding myself with positive affirmations and actively absorbing every good thing I possibly could. I went through my 2,100 liked songs and put together a playlist of every song that made me feel good about myself. You can find that playlist here. By the end of my second semester of freshman year, I wouldn’t say I was completely back on my feet, but I was excited and grateful to live every experience I was given, which was almost a complete turnaround in just a couple of months.

Music isn’t the only avenue in which your mental health is altered, but if you are trying to look at life through a different lens, listening to songs that would pick your scabs is regressive. That doesn’t mean you can’t listen to your favorite songs anymore, but being more conscious about what you are allowing yourself to absorb is a step in the right direction. The magic of music is the intimate expression of emotions, and it can be used to your advantage.

Strike Out,

Author: Grace Groover

Editor: Cristina Angee

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