"Lyrical Antidote" by Paulina F.

 

            Isolation leads to boredom and boredom leads to loneliness and loneliness leads to sadness and sadness eventually places you in a state of depression. During quarantine I lived through all these stages. As I was already forced into physical isolation due to a pandemic I then pushed myself to emotionally isolate myself from my friends and family due to depression. Being alone you are stuck within your own thoughts and feelings to overthink the image of disappointment you see in yourself. The constant dread of performing simplistic tasks like eating, brushing your teeth and even changing the same clothes you have been wearing the past few days became my new lifestyle. Consumed by the feeling of being tired all the time but unable to bring myself to a full night's sleep because I spent all night staring at my reflection questioning if my existence is even real. I was stuck in this endless cycle for months. Living through my mental state I felt misunderstood and alone, no one reached out to help me because I had deleted myself from social media to not be contacted. I also found myself alone in my room away from my family so they could not question why I was in such a negative mental state because I knew they would respond in criticism and insults. Undergoing such a lifestyle brought me to feeling alone and not cared for. Almost a year of being lost and feeling alone, I then explored my new form of therapy, music.

            Before music my head felt drowned in my own negative thoughts but was now then flooded by relatable lyrics and endless rhythms. What had consumed my sadness the most was the idea that I had felt like no one understood me, exploring music and analyzing lyrics opened my eyes that other people were undergoing similar situations and feelings. Analyzing the meaning behind songs became my new hobby and taught me that I was not struggling alone. Within my battle I had craved the feeling of being heard and understood. A variation of artists taught me that my complicated feelings of not being able to accept love or finding comfort in harmful habits were all things someone else was also struggling with. I always enjoy the loud bass or the soothing acoustic rhythm but it was the lyrics that held my attraction to music. Understanding the meaning of music and its story gave me life. Not only was the music my inspiration but it also gave me the understanding of other people's growth. Many rappers come from horrible backgrounds but were able to build art from their trauma and are now currently thriving in success. They projected how capable we are as humans and how life is all about your reaction to situations. I learned that our reaction to life's challenges and how we choose to take action is what builds our character. Knowing people have gone through much worse situations and are still able to succeed granted me knowledge that I was able to get out of the situation I was in. Listening to music furthered my knowledge on many more topics as well. It has taught me acceptance, healing, self love and how to set self goals. Following self lessons I also learned the struggle of others and how to be open minded towards types of discrimination and peoples backgrounds. The acceptance of new knowledge through music has built me to be more open minded to my peers and their struggles from their backgrounds. Both music and artists have built me mentally as a person pulling me away from the dark and guiding me towards a new mentality.

            Music is life saving in numerous ways. Finding a form of therapy to lose yourself in a void of comfort is the antidote to self confusion. The power of being able to manage your feelings and emotions through your choice of music gives you self control. Control empowers you to understand yourself as a person which allows you to come to your own senses. All the needed steps to better yourself mentally can be achieved through music. The idea of music is overlooked and seen as a source to break silence in the car but it is also a form of therapeutic art that saved me. Being able to interpret music in a way that you want it to help you whether it is to find relation to your current struggle, a need for motivation, a sound of comfort or even learn about life and its lessons can be used in so many beneficial ways. When struggling you are never alone or misunderstood because music is able to understand you in ways others can not. When in need of comfort or enlightenment music is able to grant all needed.

 

 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2d31tMZCzriVk3gwaNZkKx?si=d5c6d37adb3f463e