Braden Farley Mrs. Stoynoff

Mrs. Stoynoff

7 November 2012

Essay #3 Essay

There are certain things in the world that draw people to them because it makes them feel like it expresses who they are and what they are about. There are many things that express this, but music is the main thing that expresses it the most and best. There are so many different types and genres that can describe your feelings at the moment or even for a long period of time. We all have that one song that we are drawn to the most and have the strongest feelings for. My favorite song that describes me and I am most attached to is “Citizen Soldier” by 3 Doors Down. This song expresses who I am and what I am all about in a couple of minutes.

The song by 3 Doors Down is a song made just for the National Guard troops. I joined the Ohio Army National Guard in August of 2012 and love every second of it. I heard this song when I was younger and it had no real importance to me, but once I joined the National Guard, I heard the song again and it connected with me so perfectly. The lyrics in the song described what the National Guard is perfectly, the National Guard is citizens that are in the military but also have that military obligation, hence the name of the song being “Citizen Soldier”. Being part of the military you aren’t supposed to brag about it and go out places in your uniform, you are supposed to be a regular citizen but know inside that you are doing something very different from the general public. You are part of a special group that most people aren’t apart of. Out of everyone in the United States about roughly only .78% of Americans are in the military, all the branches added up. It is really amazing that less than 1% is in the armed forces, making one part of a very small and important group in interest for all of the United States. To protect and serve the citizens within the United States and have less than 1% protecting the country is extremely mind blowing. One part of this song that really connected to me was when the lyrics said, “The strongest might be among you and not wear a crown”. This means that a person in the military might be walking among you within the crowd and will not show it, but they will know they are part of something more than just themselves. The crown part of the lyrics means that the person in the military will not think he is above anyone, but instead will just blend into the crowd and just accept who they are and not make it obvious they are in the service.

Music is so universal for any mood you are in. If your mood changes in a day, there is a song or genre to match what you are feeling. I can put that song on at any time of the day and get that same, strong distinct feeling that I am part of something amazing. The song pumps me up no matter when I listen to it. It’s on my weight lifting playlist because it gets me so pumped up. It is also a rock song so that is one of my favorite song genres. I also enjoy listening to harder rock songs, but they don’t get me as excited and that special feeling like “Citizen Soldier” does. People get those attachments to songs because it puts their feelings into just a couple minutes and they find it to be a release of feelings and emotions all at once and feel better after listening to them. It puts what you really want to say or do and you can visualize yourself doing those actions instead of actually going out and doing it. Also music is used to aid people in falling asleep and relaxing, it is amazing how tones can change a person’s way they act and have a complete emotional change from what they were recently. Just looking at the simplicity of tones, but then making them amazing and unique by combining them in ways that have never been thought of, having that pleasure of the listener. Taking something that was so simple and turning it into a sophisticated and amazing symphony of just simple tones. It makes people happy, sad, excited, or just relaxed. Some songs can combine all of those feelings at once and that is why people are so drawn towards it. I think the other reason why I am so drawn to “Citizen Soldier” is because it takes so many emotions and puts them all into one giant feeling and it is extremely hard to describe. It is the song that embodies who I am and what I am about.

Music may be that one emotional escape that a person has in their lives and this makes music one of the most important things. Whether you play music to just create some noise while you do something else or play it for just the beat, music is everywhere. It embodies us as a culture and from time period to time period the types and genres of music that are popular change. We would never think of playing medieval music in the present just because we like the music, we play the music that is streamline. I listen to some music that is not so stream line and played constantly on the radio, but music is there to fill that empty area and without music I think that life would be very dry and bland. We wouldn’t really know how to express ourselves and music is one of those things in life that makes our world beautiful and unique. It shows who we really are and what we represent and music represents us back. Without music, there would be no individualism in our lives, it is so imperative that we have music in our life.