I’m not particularly musical. Don’t get me wrong, I can carry a tune and all. I wouldn’t completely embarrass myself if someone was hiding in the back seat of my car and heard me singing along with the radio. But I’ll never find myself singing a duet with Carrie Underwood in front of thousands of fans and recording albums. And yet, music is a huge part of my life. I would guess that most of you can say the very same thing.

Why? Why do we love music so much? Why do some people walk around with their headphones in all the time? Why have we gotten to the point where music pervades countless aspects of our everyday life?

I have a guess.

Music gets us. It doesn’t ask questions. It doesn’t judge us. It lets us be honest. Take these lyrics from “Beauty from Pain” by Superchick for example. “My whole world is the pain inside me.  The best I can do is just get through the day.” That is gut-level honesty. I daresay that without putting music to those words, no one would say them, at least to anyone else.

Sometimes our emotions are so strong that we don’t know what to say. Music is the canvas on which those feelings are painted.

“Music is inherently emotional,” said Reagan Boomershine, sophomore.

She is right. There is something about the art of stringing words together with a tune that touches people in a way nothing else can. There have been times when I’ve been driving and listening to a song that hits me so hard I have to pull the car over and catch my breath.

Music is also strongly tied to our memories. I’m sure most of you hear songs or entire CDs that will remind you of a specific time in your life. For me, whenever I hear the song “Flat on the Floor” by Carrie Underwood, I can’t help but get a dorky smile on my face because that was the first song I heard her sing in concert. It brings back a feeling of unparalleled excitement.

Beyond that, music can be a spiritual experience.

“Music, for me, is one of the ways I connect with God,” said Jeanette Banashak, instructor in youth ministry. “There’s something about the rhythm and lyrics that help connect my head and heart. Sometimes it’s hard to describe what it does for me because music does something to me that’s indescribable, you know?”

I think Banashak hit the nail on the head. Music is indescribable. It has a profound effect on people unlike anything else. It is a gift. So, maybe the next time you’re singing along with the radio, you’ll appreciate it a little more.