Capturing Memories for a Lifetime

Music. From a young age, I knew that music was inside me. Every time I heard even the simplest of melodies being played, I couldn’t help but close my eyes and melt into the song. When I listen to the soft melodies in my ballet class or belt my favorite song with tear-filled eyes, music will always talk to me more than words ever can.

Being a teenager myself, it can be difficult to open up. With so many expectations placed upon you, or questions asked whether you should be doing what you’re doing, music can be your only way of being heard. Whether you’re in a band and strum your favorite song with your friends, or just sit in your room vibing to a song that gives a backing track to your daily activities. Sometimes music can be the only thing in your life that makes sense. The only thing that stays constant in a life of everchanging events.

Most people listen to the melody and occasionally tap their pen to the beat. Others pay attention to the lyrics that resonate with their exact feelings. I tune into the melody. How an artist has created a melody that matches an exact feeling. How this single melody can describe your utmost intentions better than any essay ever could. They’ll always be a melody inside me. Whether it hums as I travel to school, whistles as I take a stroll, or belts as I cuddle my pillow, it’ll always be there.

One of my favorite singers is Taylor Swift. Her work as a lyricist is divine. But what speaks to me is her ability to sing with so much raw emotion and desire. “Cardigan” is one of my favorite songs because it tells a story. Not only from her lyrics but her vocals. During the bridge, I hear her shivering voice and breathy voice as she tries to convey her feelings. She encompasses the feelings of isolation, whether they cause you to feel free or terrified. She truly conveys her profuse emotions about first love, heartbreak, and isolation in such a soulful way.

I play piano. The most classical, primary instrument for many great songs. I play piano because it allows me an escape from reality. When I play my piano, it blocks out everything. All the grey thoughts, blurry visions, doubts, booming expectations, everything fades into oblivion. I learn songs with passionate melodies. I love learning old songs. Songs that aren’t played as often but are still nostalgic and loved.

Performing in front of people I don’t know is nerve-wracking. It makes me shiver just thinking about it, but playing the piano doesn’t count. There’s just this magnetic feeling I get when I play the piano and don’t care when people come and watch. Normally I can’t help but think everyone’s whispers are about me. Everyone’s murmurs are all my criticisms. But it’s not the same when I play piano. I want people to hear me. I want people to feel the music as much as I do.

Music is inside all of us. Whether we recognize it or not. Whether we sing with it or let it play as we look out a window. Music helps people feel seen or helps others see them. On a rainy day or a bright sunny day, music helps narrate our story and gives us a backing track for our soul. Music helps us during the scary moments. Gives us courage during the tough ones. It enlightens us during the happy ones. Music is beautiful and is one of our greatest treasures.

Songs I listen to whilst writing:

Falling Behind – Laufey

Let you break my Heart again – Laufey

Cardigan – Taylor Swift

Fade Into You – Mazzy Star

Telephones – Vacations

Ballerina – Yehezkel Raz

Mystery of Love – Sufjan Stevens

Say Yes to Heaven – Lana Del Ray

Dark Red – Steve Lacy

Show Me How – Men I trust

Billie Bossa Nova – Billie Eilish

Rises the Moon – Liana Flores

Heart to Heart – Mac Demarco

Maya Bharadwaj is a teenager from Melbourne, Australia, who is passionate about travelling, writing, reading, music and ballet. She loves to take the reader into her world with her words.