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TCU 360

TCU 360

All TCU. All the time.

TCU 360

Students discuss religious topics in a small group. (Photo courtesy of tcuwesley.org)
Wednesday nights at TCU’s Methodist campus ministry provide religious exploration and fellowship
By Boots Giblin, Staff Writer
Published Mar 27, 2024
Students at the Wesley said they found community on Wednesday nights.

Music paints perfect background for college life

In college, music is an extremely important part of people’s lives. Many college students listen to music while multitasking with many other activities: doing their homework, walking to class or driving their cars. Music plays a major part in a college student’s life, where local bands thrive by word of mouth or other unknown music groups gain popularity through repeated play. Personally, because of many people I have met, friends I have made, concerts or clubs I have attended, my musical tastes have adapted, molded and expanded due to these actions and changes in my life. The question is why is music so popular, not only in college but also in general?

Music has the power to become an irreplaceable part of a person’s life. It has the potential to make people feel better when they’re sad and excite them when they’re happy. Music has an inexplicable way of making people feel whatever emotion they want, based on the type of music they choose and the initial emotions their minds create when they listen to music. College students usually listen to many different genres and have many different tastes so they have music for every emotional occasion. College is a time when people find themselves and their identity, as well as grow into adults. Music, in this way, becomes a sort of “soundtrack” or background noise to a student’s surroundings in college and the changes that occur within their lives.

Music also has similar characteristics to nature; it can somewhat resemble and be related to naturistic sounds and their effect on people’s moods and emotions. In a way, people enjoy music because of its nature-like quality, because like nature itself, music is a thing outside the ordinary and has the potential to take people away from their everyday mundane activities. Nature sounds such as rain falling, waves rushing on the beach, and even bird and forest sounds have the ability to take people away to a faraway place just by closing their eyes. Music has that same hypnotic ability. Music can be a relaxant, a distraction and an escape.

College students experience many monumental life changes while involved in their studies. People can go through break-ups, divorces, marriages, making new friends, getting good grades and moving into new homes. All these changes and more have the prospective power to inspire and create feelings and emotion, and most people channel their energies into music. Music, a band or a song can mean different things to different people, but it is a common outlet through which most people communicate emotionally and mentally, whether to others or to themselves.

One fact remains the same, however: Music is an enjoyable escape from the everyday, hectic and fast-paced life we all face. It is a thing to be respected and enjoyed, no matter what the genre or type.

Ylona Cupryjak is a sophomore theatre major from Keller. Her column appears Tuesdays.

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