Musical Identity

According to the lecture in my media development class, music is the most powerful medium for managing mood and expressing identity. I didn’t think much of this, as I am no longer a teenager trying to establish an identity, but had an experience this week that made me realize just how true this statement is. A coworker created a new Pandora station with Lonestar as the category, and suddenly all of the songs I had memorized and loved when I was growing up, driving in my mom’s van, were taking me back. I realized that these songs were the ones that I had incorporated into my identity creation as I grew up, and even when I hear them now, 15 years later, it still makes me consider who I am, based on what they used to mean to me.