Personal Narrative Analysis

Throughout my life, no single thing has had a greater impact than music. It has made me who I am today, and I cannot remember a time when music wasn’t a huge part of myself - my earliest memories all contain the music that my parents played. Beyond being a product purely for enjoyment, as it was for a long time in my earliest years, music has gone on to become a fundamental part of who I am, how I spend my time, and who I spend that time with. It motivates me to be better for numerous reasons. I credit my early involvement in music with most of the successes I have had to this date.

It is no secret that music has a strange way of reaching people who were previously thought to be too far gone. Music has the capability to connect to individuals and touch them in a way that causes them to have some strange reactions (Warner et al, 35-36). These reactions aren’t fully understood but have the possibility to lead to great medical advancements. While some psychologists, and parents are strong believers in the helpful effects of music on people’s mental health, others see the dangers that come with music’s great influence and think it could be used as a dangerous tool against individuals.

I have learned throughout the years that I am a person who gets nervous easily. Whether it is a speech, difficult test, or sports game I can count on the fact that I will be nervous, no matter the context. For me there are two things that I constantly worry about in these situations; the many possible bad outcomes, and the hype that comes before any of these situations. For example, when I was younger and had to go get a shot I would always stress about it leading all the way up to the shot. My mom would always say that the build-up is worse than the actual event. But, by over exaggerating the pain I thought I would feel, I validated my claim that shots are stressful. She was right, the shot and the accompanying pain were gone in ten minutes.

Growing up, I had always been surrounded by adults, I knew I could rely on. The thought of being an adult, seemed very distant to me, at least that was until I entered teenagehood. At the age of 12, I went under the custody of my aunt because my mother had to move to another state, due to health reasons. Not having my mom definitely made me more self dependent. However, I still had my aunt and uncle as parent figures, who I could depend on, so I truly did not feel the need to grow up just yet.

Whenever I was sad, irrational, stressed or overjoyed, music was my escape. Since I was

I love to hear music all the time. I enjoy listening to music while doing homework, cleaning, walking, and running. To me music is a part of my daily life. Therefore, I wanted to know what happens in my brain while I listen to music. Reading these two articles made me realize that music is actually a very good thing. I was very amazed to read that music helps children who suffer from trauma. I was also amazed of all the benefits there are to listening music. I was astonish to find out that music therapy exists. This might be the only way that some people with trauma can be help to improve how they are

The opposite of depression is note happiness, but vitality. And that was vitality that seemed to seep away from me in that moment. Everything there was to do seemed like too much work. And one of the things that often gets lost in discussions of depression is that you know it’s ridiculous. You know it’s ridiculous while you’re experiencing it. You know that most people manage to go through their daily routines and it’s not a big deal and yet you are nonetheless in its grip and you are unable to figure out any way around it. And so I began to feel myself doing less and thinking less and feeling less.

I had always loved the spotlight. I was popular, outgoing, and lived for attention. I was active in almost every school sport and club with connections from all cliques. I guess you could say I owned the spotlight and ran the show….but I was never prepared for the day the curtains closed on me.

When I reminisce regrading my life over the past six years. How I conquered some of my seemingly unfeasible goals. Like passing the General Education Development exam and enrolling into college. When I was younger never fully understood the importance of an education until now. Despite the multitudinous times my parents and high school teachers would stress the importance of having an education. My senior year of high school is when I dropped out. With much procrastination and self-doubt earning my high school diploma and enrolling into college are my life’s most rewarding experiences.

The other night I was in my room, listening to various playlists after a particularly rough day, when I heard the opening chords of Sugar start strumming in my ears, and I realized something. I realized that those chords felt more like home to me than the room I'd grown up in and the bed in which I'd slept for 18 years. And I think that's why this music means so much to us. It never fails to make us feel. Make us feel hopeful or safe, make us feel angry or motivated, make us feel better. I can put the headphones in

In my recent memory, there hasn’t been a significant “bump in the road” that affected my last four years. However, if there was something that I will acknowledge held me back from unleashing my full potential, it definitely had to be caring a little too much for my friends.

My background contains two adolescent years in the better neighborhoods of hydro electrically powered Zaporozhye, Ukraine, ten developmentally critical birthdays celebrated unceremoniously, while calling home an area in Sacramento known among locals as an actual antithesis to diversity, and a remaining lifetime enduring the tell-tale inevitable mishaps of time. Today, I house within me complex emotional ranges assiduously spattered along the spectrum of human expression, starkly vivid experiences collected through several once-in-a-lifetime moments, and, hopefully, a holistic identity deemed worthy by institutions purposed for passionate academic pursuits.

I was born on June 13th, 2000 in Edmonton, Alberta. Although there are no interesting stories about my actual birth per-say, (2) There is the fact that when I was younger I would tell anyone I came across that I was born on Friday the 13th in an attempt to seem ‘edgier’, although I was actually born on a Tuesday. (3) My earliest memories are always just fleeting, moving snapshots of random events, such as running down the hallways of the hospital on the day my brother was born, or looking out my bedroom window at my former house. Interestingly though, many of my early memories are not in first person, I often see my younger self doing things instead of doing them myself. (4) I strongly consider my parents to be the biggest influence on

Ever since I was very young I have had a passion for music. I both listened to it and played it. Hearing certain music relaxes me and put me at ease, but when I play it I can feel the music flowing through me, from my heart all the way to my fingertips. I used to think that playing the piano was good enough physical therapy but when I found the passion it, it was just an amazing stress reliever. I found the song “Turning Page” by sheer chance, and ever since, I can't seem to ever get tired of it. I feel like it’s apart of me.

As senior year slowly approached during my last summer as a kid, I pictured it would be a breeze. I imagined my schedule to be filled with electives and minimal academic classes. When I got to orientation a week before school, my schedule was just that, filled with electives. I must say I was pretty excited.