Please join us in congratulating Ella B from Chagrin Falls Middle School for her winning essay.

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Ella B.

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2021 Grant A Guitar Essay Scholarship Recipient

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Music. Tunes. Diction. Tone. Feel. Vibes.

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Music is of indispensable importance to me. From Taylor Swift to Katy Perry to Glitch Mob to Nightcore. I can’t remember a time in my life that music hasn’t been holding my hand, giving me closure, or helping me survive. Literally. I recall blasting my dad’s music in the car and singing along at five or six years old. I look back to my first iPod. I treasured that little metal and plastic square with (what I thought was) infinite songs. When we had company, I had to be reprimanded to pull the earbuds from my ears. More recently, when cleaning the house, I am almost never seen without my headphones on or around my neck. And that leads me to the main topic. How has music helped you through Covid-19?

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Music has helped me in a myriad of ways. If I’m feeling a particular way, but I can’t explain it, I will send a text to my friend with a song title. She knows that is our code to listen to the song and react as if I’m singing it. For example, If I am feeling uncomfortable, upset, or not feeling great mentally, I’ll send a text saying “Hey, you should listen to Home by Cavetown, it’s really good!” She will listen to it, then send all the support, reason, and encouragement I need. (She is the absolute best friend I could ever need or want.) Or if plans change, or I get my hopes up, or we had something fun in mind, but Coronavirus comes in like a wrecking ball to knock everything down, I like to forget my disappointment by listening to my music. Alternatively, if I’m signed into virtual school, and we’re doing independent work, or it’s after school and I’m doing homework, I’ll plug in my headphones and flip on my playlist because I know music helps me focus.

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When I’m having a really off day. I’m just not feeling good. I’m disappointed. I’m numb. I’m just really exhausted. I’ll put on my playlist, lay on the couch, close my eyes, and just… recharge! I think a lot of us need that sometimes. By now I have a five hour-forty-one-minute-long playlist. That is one hundred and two songs and counting. It covers nightcore, techno, pop, emo, angst, lighthearted, victorious, and pretty much everything in-between. Oftentimes, I need every one of those one-hundred-and-two songs to keep going.

 

Day by day.

           We’ll make it through.

                     Together with music.

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