#Uoryes, breotrAshley Cline English 1101

Elizabeth Hinnant

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Road trip to Knowledge

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For as long as I can remember, my parents have always taken me everywhere with them.

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I remember sitting in the back seat alone, strapped in

a car seat,

listening to my parents up front

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talking about their day, and the radio playing in the background. Trying but failing to understand
what they were talking about, as I was merely a toddler, I always ended up just listening to the

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radio. Sometimes for minutes, or even hours depending where we were going, music was always
there to entertain me.

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i loved it, I loved how the words somehow felt like they meant more with

the instruments playing behind them, I loved how it made me feel, I loved that it calmed me. Even early on, music meant so much to me, the fact that music was always around was

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comforting, and to this day it still takes me to my "happy place." I loved exploring the different
genres, all the different types and sounds. Music fascinated me, and has had a bigger influence

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on me than i had ever imagined it would. Music has changed the way I speak, the way I write,
and even the way

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I learned to read, music initiated my literacy narrative.

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Music is anywhere and everywhere. Every culture has their own type of music; each type
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is unique and different. By exposing yourself to their music, it's almost like you are becoming a part of what their culture is like, As said by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Music is the universal language of mankind." No matter how different we may be, music has the power to

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us and bring us all together. Being the shy child I was,

I soon realized this and then used

music as a great outlet for communication and socialization. Whenever I felt awkward trying to

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talk to someone new, I would always bring up music. What better topic to start a conversation
about then music? Sooner or later we would always find some common interests. Ultimately, this led to some major developments in my communication skills.

In an effort to become more relatable, I went through many phases on the journey to finding myself. Each new phase resulted in
a new genre

to learn, and as a result, my vocabulary

grew as well. As I broadened my musical horizons, I also had fun in the process. Imagine a

buffet of music just waiting to be browsed, each genre so unique and special. With each and
every genre so intricate, they all have different things to bring to the table. Each genre taught me something new. Rock taught me vernacular like "blast" and "chick." Pop and rap taught me words like "shaMy" and "twerk." Love songs taught me words like "hear1break." Country taught vocabulary terms like "ain't" and "ya'11." As you could imagine there are thousands more, but

overall you get the idea. With all of this, I remember finding the grammar if each geffe interestins as well.
The grammar of each geme has taught me many things when it comes to writing. I found certain genres to be great examples of proper grammar, as they were very poetic and well thought out. At the same time, I knew others were not the best examples, like Rap and Country. I
guess you could say certain genres have taught me what to do and what not to do. But music has

had a bigger effect on me than just the technicalities of writing. Music opened my mind.
use music as motivation or inspiration when

I often

writing. I will use music to set my mood and get

into the correct mindset to write. For example, if I need to write a serious paper, I will play very
calm and relaxing music. But if

am writing something that is creative, I

will play something fun

and crazy. Johnny Depp once said "Music touches us emotionally, where words alone can't," and

I completely agree. Something about music just keeps me calm, it

has the power to connect my

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emotions to my topic and put myself in complete focus. Along with this, music has also
enhanced my reading skills.

When I first learned to read, I disliked it very much. I thought it was boring, and a waste

of time. But over time, music has changed that opinion drastically. Music has changed the way I look at things. If you think about it, music is just like poetry, it just has a tune behind it. Once I
reahzed this, reading became ten times more interesting for me. When

I listen to music, I can

This helps me

really feel the emotions in the artist's voice as he or she

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analyze what the song is about and really figure out the meaning behind it. After years

of

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practicing with music, I have learned to do the same for reading. I try to think of the emotions
that drove the writer to write what they did, and this helps me understand the book better and
understand what the writer is trying to portray. In addition to this, music has taught me how to analyze things. I have learned that there is always more to a story then what is brought forth. In

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other words, music has taught me to read between the lines and pick up on metaphors. I have
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learned to think of things in a more imaginative way, and not take things so literally. It has

helped me figure out the overall big picture without losing the valuable details that mak6the book or other literary work so special, Music has really revolutionized reading for me personally
and has made

it a more enjoyable experience.

music has had a huge impact on not only my

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literacy narrative, but also my life as a whole. Music meant so much to me when growing up,
and still does to this day. With the improved skills that I have derived from music, my

communication, writing and reading skills have been enhanced greatly. Without these skills, I would not be in the position I am today, and for that I am grateful. Music always has and will
always be a part of my life.