The Soundtrack of Your Life

Music is a key factor in my life, now and has been for as long as I remember. Music is one thing that can control my mood and emotions unlike any other. The sounds and melodies of the composition have the potential to sway my moods from a dark gloomy state all the way to a joyous and soothing harmonic atmosphere. Music allows me to control how and what I want to be, or represent. Music is almost like picking out a favorite outfit. When one picks out an outfit to wear they most likely pick an outfit that expresses them and how they are feeling at that direct moment.
They have the ability to change shoes, accessories, or their hairstyle to make it appealing to their particular desires, just as one has the will to change a song on their ipod, or flip the channel on a local radio station. Recently, my life has been undergoing many changes. I am now starting to apply myself in a way that allows me to develop my potential and show forth the results as an outcome of the pursuance of fulfilling my aspirations. More than ever now I am starting to realize that “you get out of life what you put in”. Life is dependent only on “what you bring to the table”.
If one tends to put in minimal effort then one should not expect to experience a great aftermath. I have chosen three songs that apply to my life right now in the stance that I am currently in. Its ironic that all of these songs are from different genres, songwriters, and generations but, they somehow tie into my life perfectly. The main theme of the “soundtrack of my life” is “overcoming obstacles and changing that are essential to the growth and the perseverance of an individual”. Natasha Bedingfield’s song “Unwritten” has made quite an impact on me.

When I first heard the song all I could really say is “wow”. This song made me feel empowered in a sense and I felt inspired to go out, make a difference and do something great. She explains how the world is offered to you and that it’s up to you to decide not only your fate but your destiny and how your life will end up. She states “I am unwritten, can’t read my mind, I’m undefined, I’m just beginning, the pen’s in my hand, ending unplanned”. By reading these lyrics and interpreting them more as a poem I realized the true and pure essence of this lyrical stanza.
I believe the message of this is to convey that although we’re taught certain things as simple as proper etiquette and how to act, that doesn’t define us. It’s almost as if the writer is referring to herself as anonymous, as if she doesn’t really know herself but, in the process is trying to reveal and create herself transforming from a nonentity into a being with an individual personality, demeanor, and identity whether she knows where she’ll end up or not. This line can apply hugely to my life.
I am 17 now and as a child we were all conditioned and taught to behave in a certain manner. Now that I am older I feel as if I can speak for myself and in a sense “reincarnate or change” myself into what I want to be instead of what my parents have taught me. I think that being a child one doesn’t always really know who they are other than what they are told that they are. I still don’t know exactly who and what I am but, being in this position I feel as if I can create a new identity with myself without having to know exactly where and how I will end up.
This songs main message was not only that “you are who you say you are to be” but also that “perseverance is a choice that we all have to take advantage of to prosper on our own terms. Miley Cyrus’ song “The Climb” is a basic analogy of my life as a whole. She states that through life anything worth having is going to take some struggle and hard work if its something that one truly wants to be successful at or accomplish. Though, her lines in her song are very simple they are simple enough in nature to strike with a hard meaning.
Miley states “the struggles I’m facing, the chance I’m taking, sometimes might knock me down, but no, I’m not breaking. ” These effortless lines may seem juvenile but are very mature and take a leading stance in my life. I am transitioning from the mind of a child into an adult. I might not necessarily make the right decisions all the times or the best moves but, I never give up on my ending goal, which is to be just a more wholesome and better person.
I realize that “there’s always gonna be another mountain, I’m always gonna wanna make it move, always gonna be an uphill battle, sometimes I’m gonna have to lose, ain’t about how fast I get there, ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side, it’s the climb. Miley Cyrus has never stated my life in general in a better way. This song can be considered the epitome of how I live and the thesis for this paper alone.
Finally, I would like to introduce the classic song off of the movie “Space Jam” that has respectively impacted my life. This song simply is real and to me defies the essential steps in creating growth in myself. This song teaches that one must be able to see and visualize themselves in an instance in order to “touch the sky” or in other words overcome an obstacle that would once never be thought of or made possible. This song is none other than the 1996 billboard topping hit of “I Believe I can Fly” by R. Kelly.
Kelly sings confidently “see I was on the verge of breaking down, sometimes silence can seem so loud, there are miracles in life I must achieve, but first I know it starts inside of me, oh, if I can see it, then I can be it. ” Through my conquest of life I have had times where faith has been broken and when all seems to fail my life has just spiraled out of control. This song is like a “pick me up, and booster” to reassure that in the end all will be well if you just let go and believe wholeheartedly that things will work out for you.
This also means that staying positive is key to a change that you are wanting to see in yourself but, essentially you have to be proactive and press on to change and develop yourself into the idol that you have created in you mind for yourself. In the end the soundtracks of my life are austerely defined as “overcoming obstacles and changing essentially to the growth and the perseverance of an individual”. If anything I think that I am drawn to these songs because of the messages that they bring.
It’s not the catchy beats, the talented artist, the flashy music videos, or the encoded messages that draw my attention forth but rather what the song has to offer to me in such a plain way. In considering things as far as the music that I listen to I am very eclectic. If the track can provide me with insight, motivation, or reality of life then I most likely will be listening to it. It’s not so much of what we are listening to but, more so why we are listening and engaging in an artistic piece of music.