The Influence of Music

Since as long as i can remember, i have been listening to music.

Music is a universal gift that connects people and unites them together. Music not only elevates your mood but eases pain, helps people manage their pain, stimulates people’s memories and reduces stress and worry. It’s extremely powerful and while it gets appreciation from all around the world, i think i sometimes take it for granted.

I constantly listen to music (like at all times.) if the radio is not on i have my airpods on, and if my airpods are not on i have my speaker on. It influences me greatly. It can take my mood from a 0 to a 100 as quickly as possible. If i have to block something out i use music to distract me, but i also use it when i have to focus and when i need something on in the background. It causes your brain to release dopamine while listening, helping us to think and focus. I’m not sure what i would do without it.

I also love the art of song lyrics. When i was little i used to write songs constantly and perform them for my family. I commend lyricist’s and when i listen to particular songs i am truly baffled as to how people can come up with such engaging lyrics that work so well together.

It has the unique ability to convey and represent different cultures, being completely subjective and having so many varying genres. There will always be a song which matches the particular area i’m in, or headspace i’m in and honestly it helps me appreciate things and places more. When the music enhances my mood it allows me to view things in a different light or see the beauty in small things. Music can be motivational, pulling people out of a tough space or influencing them to be better for themselves. It can be healing, allowing people to relate to others on a deeper level, realising others feel like them too. It has so many positive attributes and i understand why people say it saved them or helps them get through their day.

Why I Think Art is the Purest form of Self Expression

Growing up i’ve been surrounded by people who loved art and knew the importance of art. I was always surrounded by people who pursued it as a hobby or simply showed their appreciation for it.

I have been drawing since i was young, taking a liking to bright colours and random doodles, this has continued into my teen years when i took it as a subject and started to learn more about specific artists. I think creativity is really important, it allows us to broaden our perspectives and think freely making life more exciting and enjoyable.

I’ve always felt really passionate about the importance of art, i’ve always explained it like this: there’s one thing that all humans have in common and it’s that we all naturally feel inclined to share our experiences and opinions with each other, it’s imbedded in us. Wether it’s a sad song or perhaps a movie made to depict a story or a topic. It’s a way of showing people how you feel and what you feel. Art has always been a form of expression, a way to share experiences. It could be a landscape picture of somewhere you’ve been or even a portrait of someone you have met. Despite the unity it brings i also love how subjective it is, someone can view a painting and see something completely different to what another person sees. I think anything that depicts emotion or an experience is art.

Ethan Hawke explained it in a way that struck a cord with me: he expressed how not a lot of people take interest in poetry, that is until there heart gets broken, or they are in a time of need or grief- that is when people go searching for poetry or a form of art. They do this to see if anyone has felt what they are feeling, trying to figure out if anyone can relate or if they are alone in it.

A quote i enjoy is “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” I think this depicts my point perfectly.

Why I Aspire To Travel

One place i have always wanted to go is New Zealand, since i was young my mum had always told me stories and shown me pictures from when she went to New Zealand for the first time.

On my mum’s side i have loads of family who immigrated to new zealand years ago, i’ve always been fascinated over the fact that i have family across the world from me whom i have never met or interacted with. My mum and dad have always dreamed of going, but a lot of money and planning went into it. When i found out that we were going to be going for 3 weeks over Christmas time i was incredibly excited, however i had slight underlying nerves for some reason? I’m not sure why, i guess it was the fact that i had never met any of them before and that 3 weeks is a long time to spend with people you don’t know. I also didn’t quite know what to expect, i wasn’t sure what type of things you could do there or what it would be like at all.

After the long and i mean LONG journey there my expectations were completely exceeded to say the least. Every single family member i met was unbelievably sweet, they all had the most amazing houses in the countryside. They had heaps of land all to themselves and i quickly realised they lived completely different lives to us. I quickly fell in love with new Zealand particularly when we went to a beach house at the Bay of Islands. The water was unbelievably blue, i had never seen anything like it before. We went out on jet skis, went kayaking and out on my uncle’s boat.

I’ve never particularly loved where i lived, i always dreamed of something more. Some place peaceful and beautiful with warm weather. Travelling or even moving to a more appealing place is something i most definitely aspire to do in the future and my trip to New Zealand solidified that.