Music Takes Me Away

Living with anxiety, especially in college, is difficult. I constantly worry about stuff I shouldn't be worrying about in that moment and thinking about all of the duties I need to get done each day gives me mounting stress.

But there's one thing that always remedies the situation: playing music.

When I was just 3 years old, my family had this old brown piano sitting in our basement. Nobody in my family was musical, though. I think it had just come with the house. So when my mother went down into the basement to do laundry, I would go down with her and sit at the piano.

What my mom describes happening is her toddler not just slamming his hands on the ivory keys, but trying carefully to play keys in a way that a pianist would.

Since then, I have taught myself to play four different instruments: guitar, piano, bass and drums. I have no idea where this skill came from, but when I hear a song it stays with me forever, and I can immediately apply it to an instrument within five minutes.

And when I do, something magical happens. Playing music takes me away from the worries of my life. It is my escape from reality. Without the constant communication between music and my soul, I'm not sure how else I would deal with my stress and anxiety besides laying in bed all day. And I'm willing to bet Beethoven was not a couch potato.