I'm so in love with my music

I love this quote by Maya Angelou
"Music was my refuge.  I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness." 
 
Music has a POWERFUL influence.  This I know for sure.  Throughout my life, song lyrics have guided me, inspired me, lifted me and shaped me into who I am today.  For the occasional listener, this may seem like an overstatement.  For the die hards out there, I know you know exactly what I mean. Then you have the actual instrumentation in the song.  It has the ability to transport you out of your mind.  It can be an incredible feeling.  The words and sounds just take over your body and you can feel them flowing through you.  It's hard to describe the feeling, but you can feel the notes pulsing through you and literally raise the hairs on your arm.  Getting goosies from a song.....that is a great feeling. 

Some of my earliest memories involve music. We have pictures of me, still in a diaper, walking around with my playschool boombox on my shoulder. Even the very, very few home videos we have are of me listening to music and dancing. I'm pretty sure one was to Whitesnake's "Is This Love," but still, music nonetheless. I don't think I have ever gone a day without listening to music, definitely not since entering the teen years.  There is a 24/7 radio in my head, so that may be throwing off me off on my approximate age.  I remember in 4th grade we had a fun day at school where we were all supposed to bring in our favorite cds to listen to for the day.  I brought in The BeeGees....I was immediately not cool.  Thankfully, it was forgotten by the weeks end.  My coolness was so unappreciated back then. 

I guess my point is, music has been a constant in my life, something I could always count on.  When I had a bad day, I came home and knew which "friend" to turn to. Let me say though, that Paul, Ringo, John and George could pretty much be counted on for anything.  If the world was getting me down, Sam or Bob was who I called on.  If my parents were fighting, it was Lauryn.  If I was just a little pissed off, hello Kurt.  Feeling a little different, yep I called on Mariah (Laugh all you want about that, she could sing and actually had some decent lyrics back in the day).  Then there were Liam and Noel,  Tom, Ben, Etta, Joni, Ella, Eddie, Billie, Otis, and Louis.  Those were my "besties."   I had a lot of friends, what I can I say.   I did not discriminate.  Whether my world was bad or glorious, these guys just seemed to get it.  I am forever grateful to them for their guidance, assurance that it really would get better, and sometimes the pat on the back that was needed to power through.  I would not be who I am today without my music. This is What I Know Now.

SIDENOTE:
It makes me kind of sad, and a little frightened, to see the artists that kids today have available to turn to.  Kesha?  Yikes. Katy?  Reallly?  Bieber?  Eh.  I worry about the shallowness and priorities of future generations.  The self-absorbment promoted in some of the music today, literally makes my skin crawl, but not in a good way.  I think I am going to hide the radio from my children someday and bust out all my old jams.  At least I know they will be in good hands.