Everybody has the same taste in music, right? I mean, we all go to the same school, we are all in the same grade, we are almost all the same age, a lot of us have grown up together, and shared similar experiences. Surely, we all must have the same favorite genre and artist; offering the same message we all want to hear. I looked right to my sophomore class to see if this could possibly be true. I decided to survey a group of students and have them tell me their favorite artist or group, their favorite genre that corresponds with their favorite artist, how they most commonly access their music and what it is they like so much about their artist; what inspires them to keep listening over and over again? But then again, isn’t everybody different?

After surveying a group of current sophomores, I concluded that most students enjoy listening  to their music through either YouTube or SoundCloud and that the most favored artist in my surveyed group was Ed Sheeran. Maxson Hernandez-Trujillo commented, “I like his unique and original style that distinguishes him from others.” Maria Navarro Torre noted she likes Ed Sheeran simply because, “his lyrics are super original and make sense.” On the other hand, a different group of individuals stated that they prefer listening to rock and roll, more specifically, The Police and Green Day. Martin Gonzales noted,  “I enjoy the instruments used by The Police; especially the baseline. Plus the lyrics of some of their songs are funny or interesting.”  In accordance with the popularity of rock, Nicole Poulin said, “Green Day has a lot of different songs offered for its genre.” She especially loves “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.” Another small sect of music genres that were present included Indie (Hoizer) and Progressive Rock (Chon). Alessia Prenda noted that she loves the Indie genre to help her relax and clear her mind. The smallest genre present was Progressive Rock represented by the group Chon. Ismael Alvarez emphasizes that “Chon mainly focuses on their guitars, which have a very distinct sound to them. The guitarists are insanely good and offer a wide variety of songs, ranging anywhere from a super mellow and chill sound to a very upbeat and colorful one.” 

Needless to say, the sophomore class favors a vast variety of music. Each artist and lyric offers a new perspective to every individual it reaches. Music has the ability to be medicine for our souls. It helps us believe in ourselves, get through rough times, and give us hope. I believe it is so important that we listen to music because it offers a far deeper connection than speaking could ever do; that a life without music would be a mistake. Each song triggers a different emotion, a different memory for everyone. It is able to speak in emotions rather than just words. We commonly use it as a remedy, a way to escape reality for awhile and be immersed into a stress free world of our own. Many scientific studies have shown that music largely impacts an individual’s mood, memories, and even actions. Because at the end of the day, you are what you listen to. 

We are all connected through the music we listen to, “for it is where words fail, music speaks,” as Hans Christian Andersen once said. It speaks for each one of us. It speaks for the class of 2022.