I'm mid HGW (hot girl walk) with my friend, Maggie. We are just about to finish lap three and begin lap four around St. Mary's Lake. After exhausting just about every topic, ranging from summer plans to what we should get for dinner, we land on something new that we haven't discussed before.
"What song would you want to describe your perfect life?" I ask my yacht rock–loving friend. She looks confused, and I try to explain what I mean better by saying, "Like … if you were able to imagine your perfect life, delivered to you in a 45 second clip, what would that sound like to you? Pop? Classical? Rock? Maybe a specific artist?"
At first, we begin like we usually do, laughing and connecting songs to funny little inside jokes.
We begin throwing out a wide range of random songs, and Maggie says, "Definitely something from 'High School Musical' for you!"
"No, no, definitely 'Schylar Sisters' from 'Hamilton' for you!" I respond.
Then, I started to really think about this question more deeply.
First, I really thought about the true power of music. Music has a way of expressing emotions and weighty situations that plain old words just can't. With the help of sad or happy melodies, matched with lively or slow beats, the words are illuminated in a new light.
Next, I think it is important to recognize the complexity of music and sound as it is tied to past experiences or emotions. Here, we are shown the transformative power of music and the way it can "bring people back in time." For me, certain songs that I still listen to are connected to certain periods of my life. When listening to One Direction, I think about my childhood filled with baking, soccer and playdates. When listening to songs by Selena Gomez, I am taken back to my first concert in sixth grade. Lastly, when listening to "Midnights" by Taylor Swift, I’m suddenly 16 again, back in the coffee shop where I listened to that album for the very first time, surrounded by friends from high school.
When I think about what my ideal life would sound like, I first have to think about what it would even look like. After some pondering, I believe that in my "perfect life" I would be in a constant state of excitement, happiness and curiosity. In this perfect life, I would be surrounded with family and friends, traveling all the time, vanilla latte always in hand and wearing the most fun jacket I could find. Trying to find a song that would fully encapsulate this would be pretty difficult … but isn't that the point?
No song is just happy melodies—rather, there are bound to be changes in tempo, tone and mood. Similar to music and sound, life is multifaceted. In a great song, there are combinations of slower beats and lively beats. In a great life, there are combinations of tough and demanding times in concert with fun and exhilarating moments.
No song is completely perfect, and no one's life will ever be either. We learn that the combination of good and bad experiences make living much deeper and more complex.
But, if you were to ask me how I want my life to sound and didn't want to get into a deep conversation about the complexity of music and our lives, I would maybe just say "Waves" by Mr. Probz, "Where Are U Now" by Justin Bieber or "I Like Me Better" by Lauv.
