Music is a part of my life. It is practically everything to me. I don't know how I would live without it. I know many around the world feel the same way. People of all ages listen to music, but do we really realize what our music is saying?
It was a regular Friday afternoon; I was hyper and listening to my iPod with my friends on the bus. After about 30 minutes, all my friends had got off the bus. I decided to close my eyes and listen hard to the song that was currently on. I listened as hard as I could. Words and phrases that I was taught to never say, or even think about flew into my ears. These were things I belted out daily.
I just stood there dumbstruck. This had to be a mistake, it had to be. I listened to more songs, and became very appalled. I thought back to the fourth grade. Back then, if a song said anything bad, guilt would eat me away for days, until I finally deleted it, now I heard songs that made guilt fill my body.
I thought about it, and even though I didn't realize what they were saying, I had started talking about some of that. Swear words were mixed in with many of my sentences. They filled my thoughts. I thought about things that I shouldn't have. This was just wrong. Music really has an impact on our lives.
If people sung about good things, maybe our world would be a better place. As much as I hate to admit it, people probably wouldn't listen to music about peace, flowers, and nice pretty stuff. When someone says or talks about doing something in a song, people think it's okay.
Everyone wants to listen to the "popular" music. Most of the time, those songs that are "popular" do not send a great message. Most of the time, that music should be listened to by adults who are mature enough to handle it. Younger and younger people listen to it. I have seen a third grader cuss their mother out. I bet they learned that vocabulary from a song.
Now I am not saying you need to delete every song you have that says anything mature, but to be more conscious about what it's saying, and try not to repeat it. Some artists are labeled "lame" because they don't cuss or sing about things you shouldn't do until you're much older. My life was better after the day I realized how my music was affecting me. I went back to listening to artists that were pure, and I realized I liked them more than the other music.
Next time you go to download a song, think twice. You won't regret it.
