As I write this, I am sitting in a coffee shop with an iced coffee on a nice May summer day, a pair of half-functional headphones in my lap. The same ones that came with my 3-year-old phone. The ones I used to listen to music in the halls of the High School for the past few years.

Through the years, being a “music listener” has become a more and more essential part of who I am. If you are constantly searching for music (or even make some yourself), or if you only hear what comes out of the radio, we can agree that music can play a big role in our life. It links us to the memories of our past and joins us in the adventures of the present. It joined me during long bus rides to school. It ignited my interest in Poetry and playing the guitar. It was one of the most influential tools that allowed me to be fluent in English in around 8 months. I also really like how it sounds. It joined me while going from class to class and now, it joins me while I am studying from home.

Here, I would like to share my own music discovery journey with you in 2 main stages: before high school and during high school. I want to share the tracks that have meant the most to me over the years, why I like them, and how you can explore them to enjoy them too!

Before I start though, I would like to share this with you. I explored the history of the headphones, and how they came to be what they are today, for a class assignment and if you are interested in this article you may be interested in this information too.

All right. Let's start…

Everything began in my early teens, around 2014. The K-12 school I went to had a contest to incentivize its students to explore their new website. Those who participated the most were entered for some prizes. I did it just for fun, so when I was announced as one of the winners, it caught me by complete surprise. I won an iPod nano. A little metal square with a digital screen and plenty of space for music.

The first album I ever purchased and one that introduced me to the replay button was “Reflection” by Fifth Harmony. This album is packed with powerful energy and the, at the moment, balanced chemistry of all its members. Even though its “Factor X” industry focused foundation didn’t leave the group in a place to prosper in the long term. Looking back, I can see that each of the 5 girls was trying their best to showcase their entire ability. This album has always been a source of confident energy for me. Especially tracks like “Brave, Honest, Beautiful” or the album title track “Reflection” which has lyrics that radiate power.

On the other hand, as a girl growing up in Bogota, Colombia, Natalia LaFourcade’s “Hasta la raíz” was a song that immediately drew me in. Her intimate lyrics of lust and change gave me company when my life began to change. Recently, I’ve reconnected with this song again. I really admire her grace, by tributing the place where she spent her childhood - Veracruz, Mexico - by using the particular “Huapango” strumming technique. This pattern, in which the strings are swept up and down, creates a unique sound that is traditionally used to dance -Zapateado- (hitting the floor purposely with the soles of your feet). Yet, for this track it gives it a sense of walking with confidence to the unknown. The black and white music video shows her personal journey into becoming a confident musician. In it, she is held up by others with pride and joy until she is able to stand for herself and show her art.

Near my 13th birthday, I began to explore music more and more using Spotify. Now, as you may imagine, Spotify is my absolute favorite platform. During 2016, I traveled Europe and made my first playlist with songs I liked. I also added songs that  I heard around me or that my friends recommended to me. This created the habit of making playlists and refreshing my music library every so often. 

Later that year, I moved to Natick and began to use music as a way to learn English. Near the end of 8th grade, a particular song stuck with me: “Wild Things” by Alsessia Cara, with free spirited lyrics and a chill upbeat melody. It quickly jumped into my list of favorites. I love her liberating thesis. The end of her music video says it all. She highlights that “there is a wild thing that lives inside all of us. It lives in our passions, in the people we love, our subconscious thoughts, our beliefs. It even makes a home in the darkest parts of us, but we can’t be scared of it. We have to become "it”. The entirety of “Know-it-all”, the album that this song is a part of, became very special to me. The famous “Scars to your beautiful” helped open the door to questioning unrealistic beauty stands. While “Here” was the first party anthem that considered an introverted, honest perspective on partying. I really appreciate that EP, her record labels Def Jam and Universal allowed her to come as she was.  Instead of transforming her into a stereotypical “young girl”. Her honest music and personality showed that the mainstream music industry can be a place where music is nurtured and where its listeners could live and prosper.

Talking about Alessia Cara leads me to my next stage: high school. 

Alessia was present in my music library during 9th grade, yet she became particularly special during the second semester of my sophomore year. In November of 2018, “The Pains of Growing”, her sophomore album, was released. 

As for everyone else, high school,a time of personal growth, is often kick-started by pain. Alessia's new release was perfectly timed to help me rebuild from pain. I genuinely believe this album is a healer that can help anybody in any time of struggle. 

If you are in pain or feel overwhelmed, you can stop reading this (it's completely cool) and please go listen to it. The lyrics of pure vulnerability with the notion of assurance really make it unique.

One thing though: listen to it TOP to BOTTOM, no shuffle or skipping. This album introduced me to the concept of listening to albums as a whole which allows you to really immerse yourself in the world the artist is creating. This is now essential to my enjoyment of music.

For "The Pains of Growing," Alessia starts with uncertainty, then circles through pain, gains confidence, and goes through self reflection, landing at the end stronger yet still uncertain. This ending, with the track “Growing Pains (Reprise),” is the best thing about the album. She knows this is not the only time she will feel pain or change, yet she also knows that she will be able to get through it. She will grow a little more, be more comfortable with herself, and have fun though that time.

I love this album so much that I could almost call it the soundtrack of my High School years. I listened to it almost on repeat through 10th grade. I was also the first person to attend the meet & greet for Alessia's  tour in Boston during the fall of 11th grade.

Yet, it was nowhere near the only record I heard.

One day while eating lunch in the cafeteria, around the same time I found Alessia’s second album. Spotify had released zodiac sign specific playlists. While we ate, my friends and I looked at our zodiac recommendations. I am a Gemini and at the bottom of my playlist, I found a track called “Ocean (live)” by John Butler Trio. This 12 minute long song (!!!) was made by an Australian band led by John Butler. Now that I look back on it, this song shares many of its elements with “The Pains of Growing”. Only that they were all compressed in an instrumental by a 11-string guitar, that hints the “street musician” energy Butler had when he first wrote it and began to perform it. This song is so particularly magical that it makes you want to learn to play the guitar while crying tears of emotion. You can see for yourself here.

Among the many awesome artists I discovered, the most prevalent was good ol’ Shawn Mendes. If you know me personally, chances are that you've seen me wearing my “YOUTH” hoodie a bit too many times. 

Shawn is one of my favorites, for reasons similar to why others love him. He has lovely heartfelt songs, a passion for music and playing guitar, charm, and fine looks. 

Yet, the more I listened to his music, his kind personality and good intentions, that reflected the love and support his family and close friends have for him, became really apparent. For instance, he recorded a version of “Under Pressure” by Queen for the movie Bohemian Rhapsody with his close friend and collaborator Teddy <3. The funds raised by it went to the Mercury Phoenix Trust, a charity organisation that fights HIV/AIDS worldwide. In the past couple of years, he has partnered with companies like “Flow,” a company that provides alkaline water in eco-friendly packaging. More recently, he made a special feature with “Calm,” a meditation app to encourage meditation and take care of one’s mental health.

Meditation and vulnerability were some of the main things I learned while being his fan. Even though my family and friends had recommended meditation to me for a while, it was one particularly tough day when I saw him advocate for the value of meditation and self reflection that I did the first meditation and unlocked a string of events that allowed me to start moving in a positive direction. 

My favourite albums of his are the “MTV Unplugged” and his self titled “Shawn Mendes,” aka SM3. Beyond his famous, romantic songs like “Lost in Japan,” to me his most influential song thus far is “Youth ft. Khalid.” 

During the last few years, the rise of social media has enabled us to open our eyes to the rotten parts of the world and society. "Youth ft. Khalid" highlighted the vibrant passion inside of every human, especially those with an open mind or “young” mentality. 

The song was initially created as a response to the shooting in Manchester during Ariana Grande’s concert. Yet, it transformed into an anthem for the March for Our Lives movement for gun regulation after many shootings had occurred, most notably the one in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Florida. The song also transformed into an anthem for movements like climate change, racial injustice, and many others. 

Shawn knew this song was very special so, for his music video, TV performances, and his live performance during the SM3 tour, he honored it as such. The music video features the two singers, accompanied by individuals who exemplify the vibrant “Youth” energy and philosophy. They are all so beautifully courageous. Morgan Hurd, Charlotte Reidy, and Austin Perine always make me smile.This was one of the building blocks that showed me the power that poetry holds in bringing about positive change.

Then for the 2018 Billboard performance, students from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High choir were featured. The choir appears midway through the song, wearing a blue hoodie with large wite letters that read YOUTH (the one I later bought). This group of determined individuals standing together at the end of the performance created a strong sense of determination towards a better future.

Lastly, the performance he did during the tour for this song began with him playing the guitar with incremental speed. As Shawn stomped his foot, he encouraged the audience to clap along with his stomp. After reaching a peak of speed he began singing.

Before the last chorus, he takes a pause to address the audience directly. He states, “I want you guys to know that when I say the word YOUTH [...] I am talking about a word that describes the feeling of freedom and the feeling of happiness. [...] You are the people who have the power to change the world. [...] It is up to us to stand our ground, to say that no matter what happens our Youth will not be taken away from us.” Then, he invites the audience to sing one last chorus to ignite this power inside them. 

Now that I look back at it, after taking both Psychology and Anatomy & Physiology courses this year, I see this was planned in a way to increase the audience’s adrenaline level so that they could focus on Shawn's powerful words. Therefore, this performance opened the audience's conscious energy to invite this message into their minds, and make it memorable.  

I had the privilege to experience this live. The vibrant energy of an arena packed with hopeful people impacted me. It reassured me that if we each consciously choose our actions with strong values in mind, our actions will be strong and impactful. It reassured me that we can improve this world little by little.

Writing this made me reflect on the person I was before high school, during high school, and at this moment. It made me reflect on the experiences I've had and the tunes that accompanied them. Even though I hadn’t heard most of the tracks named above in over a year, listening to them still brought vivid memories back. They will always have a special place in my heart.

A main takeaway is this: music → mindset. 

These songs repeat in our headphones and naturally, repeat in our heads. This creates a gateway to the place that determines how we see the world and who we are. We have the ability to choose how we see the world. If you find constant pain, consider assessing what you hear beyond music and perceive through your other senses. 

You have the ability to create an environment that sets you up for success.

Through the years I have tried my best to choose music that helps me, and nurtures me while still being enjoyable. As the marvelous Jacob Collier advocates, music should be “nutritious and delicious.” 

Here is a YouTube playlist of all the songs named above, plus some others I enjoy.

Needless to say, in my opinion, these are songs have the potential to set you up for success.

I had planned to share the music that I had found during quarantine and how I have evolved during this time. However, this document is 5 pages by this point.

I will respect both of our time and leave this article here. However, I will share this on my new personal newsletter “Val’s Blooming Digest.” If you are interested you can sign up by filling out this form.

As a music lover I have found some awesome music-related YouTube videos that I think you will really enjoy:

• If you were a human living through the 2010’s or curious about this decade in music, look at “The Music That Defined The 2010s” by Mic The Snare

• If you relate to creating memories with music look at this: “The Power of Nostalgic Music” by Nathan Zed

  • Honestly, Nathan’s Videos are so awesome. His smooth editing, humor, and honest perspective show YouTube at its finest.  I highly encourage you to watch his other 3 parts to his 4-part series on music: 

    • “The Lost Art of Album Sequencing”

    • “The Power of Album Covers”

    • “The Lost Art of Album Rollouts”