Anthony Zhou Week 11: Power of Music
A lot of times I go to sleep pretty late and in the mornings I feel extremely tired getting out of bed and going to school. I sometimes buy cans of energy drinks to keep myself energized through the morning but they make me anxious and that’s not a good feeling to have when you’re taking a test or writing an essay. It’s best advised to stay away from caffeine as a teen, and the anxiousness I feel is a common side effect of caffeine consumption.
Luckily I have this app on my phone which we all know and love: Spotify. In the mornings when I walk to school feeling tired I play some really loud hip hop songs. They keep me awake for two reasons: (1) It’s extremely hard to feel relaxed and nod off if the beat is aggressive. (2) I try to figure out what the artists are saying, which keeps my brain stimulated.
Now sometimes I need to lock in for an assignment in the middle of a loud flex. During these moments I play my 1980-90s Cantonese playlist to keep myself focused. This works for two reasons: (1) It masks the noise of the other people talking and (2) since I don’t understand Cantonese, I cannot get distracted by the lyrics and can focus on my work instead.
I find it so fascinating that music has the power to completely change my attentiveness, even if I’m running on 4 hours of sleep. Every single playlist I have saved— Drill, Classical, C-Pop—serves its own purpose in giving me a form of power, whether it be staying awake, staying focused, or staying calm. I implore those reading to take a moment to consider how you can take advantage of the power of music and use it to your advantage rather than purely for entertainment.
Hello, Anthony! I was greatly delighted by your exploration of music’s impact on our everyday lives because I often take for granted the accessibility of this art form, with how I can easily play my favorite tunes with a click of a button on my phone or with the CD player that sits atop my drawer. With how many of our peers (including myself) do find themselves going to sleep late at night while still having to wake up early in the morning, I am sure all of us can attest to the fact that we need to find means to keep ourselves awake; I thought it was comical clicking into the blog and just immediately seeing an image of a C4 pack because we have all been there. To continue, I believe it was a nice personal touch to add in the artists and types of music that you personally enjoy listening to because I believe who and what a person listens to indicates a lot about themself; I especially appreciated the breadth of your music taste, which ranges from genres like hip-hop to the classics. I thank you for writing about this topic which is so relevant in all of our lives, and I cannot wait to read what else you have to offer.
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