The one thing I can’t live without

There is just one thing I can’t live without, apart from food, water and oxygen, and I can’t believe that I never thought of writing about it. Folks, do not take offence. I am not talking about people I can’t live without but things, ok?

Can you guess what is it? If you know me well enough, maybe you can. It’s…

…MUSIC!

As important as they are, I can spend a day or two without reading and writing because I can keep creating stories in my head with no need to see them down on a page, but I can’t stay without music. If I don’t have a stereo or my iPod, I sing (not too well) because I need a soundtrack for my life. Always.

Music has been with me from the very beginning. My parents used to listen to a lot of music, so I grew up in a house full of notes and rhythm and silly dances around the kitchen table. My dad used to play his Rolling Stones and Doors LP to wake me up on Saturday morning. My mom sang to put me to sleep.

When I was a child, our car didn’t have a radio so we used to sing. Then, when I was four, my grandparents gave me a portable cassette player for Christmas; it was a toy but it really worked, and we used it as a car radio and I was in charge of the choice of music. I learnt the magic of music far before I learnt the magic of written words, that’s why music holds a special place in my existence.

Through my parents model, I learnt to listen to all kinds of music that’s why you can be a bit startled by my iPod playlists! You can find almost every genre: from rock to classical music, from pop to folk, from Christina Aguilera to Beethoven, from Bruce Springsteen to Disney movies soundtracks and more.

Whatever my feelings are I turn to music. I listen to music when I am happy to celebrate, I listen to music when I am sad to cheer me up, I listen to music when I am anxious to calm down, I listen to music when I am half-hearted to find some strength. And it works all the time, because there’s the right song for every moment.

When I was at my second year at University, I had quite a hard time. I was really depressed, I was paralyzed by anxiety and fear. I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t study. The only moments I felt right again where the ones I spent with my earphones dipped in my ears listening to Aretha Franklin. I don’t overstate if I say that, without music, I wouldn’t have made through that time. So we can easily say that Aretha Franklin saved my degree!

Music is always with me. When I drive, when I read, when I write, when I cook, when I clean the house. Every activity has its dedicated playlist, so that even the dullest moment has a good soundtrack.

Do you love music as much as I do? Is there something else in your life that is as important as music is to me? And… are you curious to know the content of my playlists?

Let me know! And thank you for reading.