“Music speaks when words fail.” A wise friend of mine once said this when I had no words. And yet, as cliché and typical as it may sound, I find that it is true. There’s not a day that passes, in which I don’t listen to music purposefully, hear music, and or am affected by music. In the dance studio I’m blessed to hear amazing pieces of music, (Nancy Page’s Dracula music selections… Honestly, need I say more??). And when I’m driving, I control the music mix for the day. Music changes with my mood. Or if I’m bored, or sitting at school, music is how I pass the time.

Music speaks when words fail. Letting music into your life as a coping mechanism could just turn a bad day to a great day. A perfect example: your day is down the tubes. Everything that could go wrong, did, and it just keeps getting worse and worse, including when you slush through the “wintry mix,” braving the weather to get to Wawa. As warm air rushes to warm your frostbitten limbs, music plays in the background. It’s your favorite song, and you sing quietly to yourself as you pour steaming coffee into your 20 oz. cup. The smell is intoxicating as the music swims down from the above speaker. Though the weather outside is dismal, no sun in sight, your day just got brighter.

Music has the ability to capture our every emotion, and let it out into a deep vast space, releasing something you’ve been holding in. Music can make you feel empowered, like someone else has been where you’re standing (and they lived to sing about it). It lifts your spirits when you feel as low as the slush on your shoe, or the flat tire you just noticed you had. In short, music can set you free. And whether you’re driving to music, dancing to music, or merely singing music, the catharsis you feel after is rejuvenating. Even if the music isn’t speaking for you, it’s speaking within you.

So next time you’re in Wawa, or driving, or whereever, and your day is not so great, or it is great… let music speak.

- Chloe Montgomery

Chloe Montgomery, Brandywine Ballet Theater and Certificate in Ballet Candidate