Maybe I’m just a music person; maybe that’s what has created my need for continuous musical stimulation. Whatever the reason, I can say it has changed the way I walk through life. For your average college student, I find stress pretty easy to deal with. I amount this to the ability to change my mood based on what I listen to.

Happy, sad, lonely or excited, you can find a song to describe it. There isn’t a feeling in the word that an artist has not put into words. Whenever a certain emotion crosses me, I try to find a song to fit the mood. If I’m happy, I listen to my all-time favorites to celebrate. If I’m sad, I listen to a mockery of happy sounds with sad messages, like “No Rain” by Blind Melon or I shuffle Nirvana songs. I can always find something to help me cope with what I’m feeling. This method has proven a successful stress-reliever for me, as well as people across the world.

Not only can music emotionally help you avoid major distress, but it has been proven time after time again that music has additional health benefits. Listening to music heavily affects your nervous system, regulating blood pressure, muscle tension and psychological tension. Keeping these three categories in check will lead an individual to manage stress much easier than someone with unhealthy psychosomatic tension levels.

Music has also been proven to help prevent memory loss, both long and short term. Listening to music while you study may help you to remember the information, and proves to have memory-triggering effects when the music is played later on.

Personally, I find if I start the day with my favorite music, I have little to no stress no matter how much pressure I am run though. I find, at times, incredible amounts of homework, articles to write and college applications to submit, but when I put on a particular playlist, I feel I can conquer everything with no problems.

I truly believe you are what you listen to. My mood can be altered to a positive light at the drop of a hat, just based on what comes on my playlist. The key is finding songs that mean something to you. Focus on creating a safe place through songs that will remain untainted by the stressful situations you face in your day-to-day life. These songs can become your backbone. In music, you can find the confidence to accomplish common routines and special projects with motivation you didn’t know you had. Music can change the way you view your life; I know it’s worked for me.