Music is Important to Me

I don't think I could go a day without listening to some kind of music. It has a power
over me. Certain songs take me back to my childhood, when I would stand in our
backyard and sing to our dogs and cats. They make me remember when I would sing
into a hairbrush in the middle of my bedroom. I was such a ham when I was younger.
Other songs remind me of my teenage years. Back when I would play the same song
over and over until my mom threatened to throw the cassette in the trash. When I just
knew I was going to be famous and life would be perfect. Or when I was picked on and
came home and cried into my pillow. When I wished the guys would see me as more than
just a friend but they dated girls that broke their hearts. And then they came and cried on my
shoulder and said they wished they could find someone cool like me. But they never saw me
as more than a friend. Back when I discovered most teen aged boys care more for looks
than substance. I learned how to sing and hide my hurt behind someone else's words.

Some songs remind me of being in my early twenties and out on my own for the first time.
They are the songs that I sang at the top of my lungs, laugh with the rush of freedom. Songs
that I played so my trailer didn't seem so empty. The songs that helped me be strong when
I wanted go back to Mom and Dad's. The songs that kept the darkness at bay. Then there
are the song that made me cry with loneliness because they spoke of the love I just couldn't
seem to find. Other songs reminded of me of people I lost and my heart ached at the memories.

I have songs that weave pictures and stories through my mind. They caress my soul and wrap
me away from the real world. I am transported to lands far away or that only exist in my mind.
Some are just feelings;of hope and joy, despair and sorrow, peace and calm. They can soothe
me or fire me up. Some ease me off to sleep and others jump start stories that beg to be put
down on paper. Some songs are linked forever in my mind with people or places. Music
links with memories and I am drawn along by the notes.

A day without music is flat and stale. My soul needs music just as my body needs food or
air. If I go too long without music, I get grumpy and contrary. Punish me by taking away my
music. It flows through me and I am incomplete without it. How sad it would be to live in a
world without music. I don't think I could.