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This I Believe: The Most Powerful Element

Kelsey Hubble headshot
Randy Eccles
/
NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS

During my freshman year of high school, my circle of friends was fairly limited.  I had three friends who I associated with daily, and I was perfectly content with this.  In place of expanding my social standing and friend group, I spent a good number of my days walking home after school and doing nothing besides laying in my room listening to music.  This might sound lonely to some, but I was happy doing it, so I felt no need to change.  Music was and is one of the greatest companions I’ve had, and one of the best tools I feel people can use to connect with themselves, and even others.  

Music was and is one of the greatest companions I've had.

Music brings people together in a way that no other form of communication is capable of doing.  If I learn that someone I just met shares my musical interests, there’s an instant connection between us.  If somebody recognizes the lyrics of a song I’m singing, we’re automatically friends in my head.  I have acquaintances that I do not know on a personal level, but I can relate to through the artists we enjoy.  When I first met one of my best friends, we dedicated countless hours to discovering, listening to, and sharing new music between ourselves.  Over the years our library of songs grew expansive and diverse, and it was one of the biggest knots tying our friendship together.  

Although I like connecting with other people in this way, there are times when I don’t like people in general.  This is why I believe that music is so diverse, fitting into every situation imaginable.  If I want nothing to do with the people or the world around me, I can turn up the volume and drown out everything I don’t want to deal with.  I use this as a tool to connect with people as well as a way to disconnect from society.  While I’m alone with the sounds playing in my head, the music impacts me.  My mood is reflected by the songs that I find myself listening to.  It has the power to motivate me, to pump me up, and get me excited.  But it can also relax me.  Calm me down and make me think.  I believe the ability a combination of sounds and lyrics to do that to the human physiology is amazing. 

Music can change people.  It can define people.  It has certainly done both to me, as the things I listen to have shaped me as a person, and have certainly left an impact on the way those around me see me as a person. Music is the world’s most powerful element.  This I Believe.  

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