I am from Beaumont, Texas, a small town close to the border of Louisiana. The place I consider home is being back in Beaumont away from city life. My dad was born in Idaho while my mom was born in Port Arthur, which is not far from Beaumont.
”Pink Skies” by: Zach Bryan
The song “Pink Skies” by Zach Bryan reflects my childhood before moving here closer to the city. In the lyrics it says “So pack the car and dry your eyes”. This specific lyric relates to me because it reminds me of the day we packed up and moved to Houston. As I was crying, my mom told me to dry my eyes because everything was going to work out.
Also another lyric that speaks to me is “So clean the house, clear the drawers, mop the floors, stand tall, Like no one’s ever been here before or at all”. This relates to me because before I moved we had to clean the house and make the house presentable to the new family that was moving in. I started listening to this song because it reminded me of my childhood before moving here to Houston. This song has always stuck with me because I have good memories living in my old house that will forever stick with me. It made me feel sad at first, because I never wanted to move but as I stood tall, I realized that it was good for me to move.
”Stuck with u” by: Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber
This song “Stuck with u” by Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber reflects the relationship that me and my sister have. This song reminds me that no matter what happens between my sister and I we will always have each other. The lyric that speaks to me is “I still wouldn’t trade being stuck with you”. It relates to me because even though my sister gets into arguments I wouldn’t trade anything in the world for spending time with my sister. I started listening to this song during covid, when it first came out. This song “Stuck with u” makes me feel like no matter how far apart we are or the situation that we are in, we are always stuck together because even though she’s my sister I still consider her as my best friend.
“Amor eterno” by Rocío Durcal
I like this song because my mom always listens to it and I love the voice of Rocío. This song reminds me of my mom because we always sing it together in the car. This lyric “amor eterno” shows me and my moms relationship that we have for each other. I started listening to this song because I have always thought as a young girl that Rocío had a pretty voice. This song makes me feel sad yet happy at the same time because I know it talks about missing someone that has passed away but it makes me happy because I enjoy singing this song with my mom.
I chose these songs because each one is tied to a special memory or a person who has made a lasting impact on me, making them deeply meaningful. I connect these songs to my own experiences, especially my move from Beaumont to Houston, which played a major role in shaping who I am today. That change helped me grow and develop the open mindset I have now. The last two songs, in particular, remind me of my sister and my mom; they reflect the influence they’ve had on me and the kind of person I hope to become one day. The research process was not difficult, as I already knew these songs, I simply connected them to my personal experiences and added emotional depth to make my analysis more engaging. I really enjoyed working on this research because it involved choosing some of my favorite songs and exploring what they mean to me on a personal level. One of the most challenging parts of this research was putting the emotions I felt from each song into words and explaining what they meant to me. From this research project, I have learned that moving to Houston has helped me grow into the person I am today. Moving away pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me to adapt to a new environment, meet new people, and experience different perspectives.