The following is a post we received by a member of our community. If you have a story to share e-mail us at [email protected]
"When I was very young, I lost my dad. Shortly after that, I discovered his old guitar, and decided to learn how to play it. The guitar helped me to think of other things, and distracted me by giving me something new to learn and play. With this, I found new types of music besides the things that you can hear on the radio. After that, I began to face my own health issues, having to stay at the hospital with a lot of time to kill. I used this time to search for new styles of music, learning songs that I liked on my guitar. As my health issues worsened, I began spending all of my time in the hospital on my guitar and my bass. I found that aggressive music helped me so much to think that I can beat this disease, 'I am stronger than this.' Finally, when I was 18, I lost my grandfather. He was like a dad to me, teaching me many things, and although you know that everyone passes away someday, you always wonder 'why now?' when you lose someone close. Again, music helped me at this time by helping me to realize that I can overcome this pain. At this point, because music had such a big impact on what lead my life, I decided to attend Berklee College of Music to further learn what exactly about it helped me to stay sane all of this time. I have so much to say, so many feelings that I want to express, and music has given me a way to." -Loïc Michel
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The following submission was recieved by a member of our community. If you have a story to share please contact us at [email protected]
"In my experience music is a guardian angel; no matter what you're dealing with it shapes into helping you. It can provide the words you need to hear because you're not strong enough to say them out loud. Or maybe even to scared to. We all have certain songs that even hearing the first chord gives us chills. We have heard the song over and over yet it still hits the spot. Years ago I lost my grandmother who I held dear to me more than anything. Being a shy kid it was hard for me to speak up, but she always made sure my voice was heard. The day I lost her I wanted nothing more than to make her voice heard one last time. But it was just silence. For the first time in my life I had no outlet, and it felt as though everything had changed. At that point, music began to have its healing effect on me. I remember a specific song I listened to on my way to her funeral, and hearing the words of someone else's loss made me feel less alone. Not less sad, not less hopeful, just less alone. For me, music soothes those silent moments when I don't know what to say, and puts out the fire in my heart when it feels like it's burning up. We use music at special occasions, from weddings to funerals, to instill an emotion and embellish the memory. Music feels like my soul: It guides me, makes me feel certain things. When I create music it strengthens my soul. Music is more than just sound, it is how we survive. People have certain songs for the bad days, the moments they want to cry, the times when they want to say goodbye and end it all. Music is my support system. Without it I would be nothing. I used to think the phrase 'music saved my life' was cheesy, but now I look at that and say realize that it can and has. I may have lost a grandmother. I may have been hurt. But I have never gone a day without finding healing through music. The second I put in my headphones I know that I'll be safe. Music is here yet again to save the day." -Jayson Svajdlenka The following is a submission from a member of our community about how music has helped them heal. If you have a story to share pleas email us at [email protected]
"When I was in 8th grade my best friend killed herself. My entire friend group was devastated, and no one really knew how to cope. I began to play music when we would hang out, and everyone would get so into it. We would all sing along and laugh and seemingly forget about our problems for a while. We connected over music and felt the pain fade away. More recently, I lost my girlfriend of over 2 and a half years. My first long term relationship. This occurred simultaneously with other serious life changes; I had just gotten a job and started college. My life was not in a good place, full of constant stress and anxiety. At this point I began to rely on heavy music, listening to records multiple times every day. Every time I felt very down or suicidal I would put on aggressive music, and it helped me relax and relieve stress. Music is a major part of my life and I don't think I would be here if it wasn't for music." |
AuthorsTony Ollerton is the Board Certified Music Therapist for the Cole Project ArchivesCategories |