The Power of Music

As a former radio DJ and CD enthusiast, I' m a firm believer in the power of music. It can completely change your mood, bring back memories, or make you believe in something bigger. The right song can make you feel alive and invincible. The first time I went to South Carolina to visit my boyfriend was very music-heavy. At the bar he sang Sk8r Boi (Avril Lavigne) to me, we listened to country music in the car, sang and danced around his room to Unwritten (Natasha Bedingfield), and when he drove me back to the airport bright and early Sunday morning, my eyes watered as Talladega (Eric Church) came on. For the next month or so I couldn't listen to it without immediately feeling upset. This wasn't the first time music had triggered such strong emotions for me though. In 2012 I went on a trip to Eastern Europe and Israel with a group of 45 other teenagers. Throughout our time together we learned many song together. One was a Hebrew song, called Acheinu. We sang it at many of the concentration camps we visited during our memorial services. At Majdanek we stood in a large circle, next to the pit of ashes of those cremated while the camp was functioning. As we sang, our voices got louder with the second verse, but our eyes got more watery. When I got home from this trip I went to camp for a week, joined by three of the other girls from my group. During slow ruach at the end of Shabbat on Saturday night the entire camp got together on the basketball court and one of the songs we sang was Acheinu. I cried as I felt transported back to Poland. For the next three months every time it was sung I pictured myself back in Majdanek. It wasn't until December, when I was reunited with my group and we sang the song in high spirits, happy to be back together again, that the tears didn't come. As summer approaches, my spirits are high again, with the end of my freshman year of college in sight. With summer comes the infamous summer playlists. I started working on mine today so here's some of what's on it:

Kids In Love (album) - The Mowgli's - my favorite right now is You're Not Alone
Cheerleader - Felix Jaehn Remix - Omi (SO CATCHY, such a feel good song)
Old Thing Back (feat. Ja Rule and Ralph Tresvant) - Matoma, the Notorious B.I.G.
Homegrown - Zac Brown Band
See You Again (feat. Charlie Puck) - Wiz Khalifa
Uma Thurman - Fall Out Boy