What are You Listening To?

With me sitting in the passenger’s seat on the way back from grade school, my mom would always play her favorite music, whether it was 80s pop, 90s rock, or classic Chicago house music. She has always had a love for music and the best taste. She passed down her love to me because, to me, music means everything and adds so much emotion and meaning to moments in my life. My mom always taught my sister and I how powerful music can be and how it can create impactful connections with others.

I still remember the first concert I attended at age six, Bruno Mars. It was my first experience of live music in a larger setting. It was the middle of summer during a perfect sunset, and my family, including my two favorite cousins, got together on the large lawn outside a gigantic concert arena. I didn’t know every song he played and could barely see him on stage unless I was sitting on top of my dad’s shoulders, but I still had the most fun time singing, dancing, and it has become a core memory of mine. From that point on, I became addicted to concerts, festivals, and anything where I could listen to live music. Since that day, I have been to more than thirty concerts and will always be willing to spend money on experiences over material items. I have been lucky enough to attend some of my favorite artists’ concerts, such as Goth Babe, Milky Chance, Coldplay, etc.

Going to a Milky Chance concert during my sister’s first time back from college was an unreal experience. I remember getting to the venue. My parents just dropped us off at the Riviera Theater on the north side of Chicago. My sister and I wandered into the general admission area and found a spot in the back of the theater. Although my sister wanted to avoid the crowd, I was unsatisfied with our spot. I sneakily started exploring the theater floor alone and found a dark, empty path along the side of the crowd. Being curious, I walked down the path and popped out into the crowd right in front of the stage. I immediately ran to get my sister and we enjoyed the concert only a few people away from the German artists. I still remember looking at my sister dancing and screaming while the fun orange glow of the stage lights illuminated the entire theater. Hearing my favorite songs blast from a speaker and the musicians riffing their guitars five feet from me gives me an indescribable adrenaline rush. A more intimate concert like Milky Chance was so special because it felt like I was simply having a conversation with them and hanging out. In a different environment, though, such as the Coldplay concert, it was equally memorable, just unique in its own way.

My whole family went to the Coldplay concert. It was at Soldier Field in the city center of Chicago. My mom surprised the family with tickets and we went on my last day of my junior year of high school. This concert was majestic and unlike anything I experienced before. With light-up wristbands, neon lasers, and a perfect view of the best skyline in the world, the concert felt like an exceptionally colorful dream. I lost my voice from screaming so much with thousands of other people and my legs were sore from jumping up and down. The feeling was more addicting than any other experience. After each concert I go to, I usually go down a rabbit hole of the artist’s discography, starting on the ride home, reminiscing about the performances, and finding new favorites. I love discovering new music and new artists that I can add to my unique collection of playlists.

My Spotify is a collage of colors that are associated with playlists filled with music that has a specific vibe I feel and hear. For example, Yellow is like a golden, sunny day lounging in a park filled with my new recent favorites. Blue is more like walking through a big city at twilight, filled with inspiring, lifting music. Beige is doing work in a magnificent old Victorian library with more piano and study music. I select the playlist I want to listen to based on what I am doing or how I am feeling. The playlists are inspired by stages of my life, people who have inspired me, or a defining moment.

Neon, my house playlist, is mainly inspired by my mom and my friends because she introduced me to house music, and my friends have given me great memories of going out and discovering new DJs. Orange, my Spanish playlist, is inspired by my grandpa because from my very first memories of him, he was always playing mariachi music for me and telling me how its origin was from the same place we were from: Jalisco, Mexico.

Specific memories also come to mind when I listen to music. The very first time I walked into Rice Quad on a tour after I had gotten accepted, I was listening to Wild Things by Coast Modern. To this very day every time I hear that song, I picture the perfect sunny morning when I stepped onto the cobblestone paths of Rice University. Another day last February, I was golfing with my boyfriend of one month. We were constantly giggling, talking, and something felt different with him. He introduced me to a new song of a long time favorite artist of mine, New Perspective by Noah Kahan. One year later, hearing the song with the same boy in my life still makes me so grateful to have him by my side. When listening to Car Camping by Goth Babe, I am immediately transported to a cool summer day driving around my neighborhood running errands with my sister. With my sister graduated from college and soon moving out of state, there is a chance a moment like that will never occur again. This only makes me want to listen to the song and cherish the memory even more.

Maybe not to everyone, but to me, music is power. It is the power to transport me to moments in my life that I now can never forget. It is the power to make my head bop, my heart pound and my eyes swell with tears. Music is quite literally everything to me. My headphones will always be powered on and the volume all the way up.