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Did You Know Your Songs Saved My Life?
My gratitude is boundless.
In all my lifetime, I don’t know how many hours I spent just clapping a pair of headphones over my ears and losing myself to the rhythm of a song that wasn’t tuned to my life.
Music was a haven away from reality. First, there were the Disney songs playing in the car when I was a kidlet — but eventually my attention grew wider to include all the songs I ingested from everyday happenings. Even now, there are certain memories interspersed with music that can snap me back to moments I felt pain or truth or simply peace.
As I grew up, the CDs were gentle splurges, the stuff of late nights browsing through the music sections at Best Buy or Target, and I was a follower long before mp3 players and iPods shifted the music industry to online stratospheres. Even the days of a local Coconuts had my family buying CD-player boom boxes before they went out of style.
I still remember how my mom and I would arrange our six-CD set-up in the car, swapping out old favorites for new finds when they suited our fancies. But that music was hers, there was no doubt, since you wouldn’t find movie or anime soundtracks among her collection (though she did love the soundtrack to P.S. I Love You).
