28
Apr
2025
How Music Has Transformed My Life
When people ask me what music means to me, I always find it hard to put into words — not because the answer is unclear, but because music has become so deeply woven into the fabric of my daily life. It’s more than a job, more than a hobby, and even more than a passion. It’s something that’s constantly shaping who I am, how I think, and how I interact with the world around me.
I have found that over time, as music has played an increasingly greater role in my day-to-day life, other aspects of my life have developed alongside with musicality, and I often find this to not be a mere correlation or coincidence, but a direct connection. I find that over time music has largely defined my identity and relationships; in addition, it has led me to be overall more open-minded, focused, and motivated (for my humble means haha). It has even helped me develop skills that are inherently very challenging and less natural for me such as memorization, documenting ideas/progress, time management/awareness, and even (dare I say) math!
One of the most beautiful gifts music has given me is friendship. I’ve met many of my closest friends through music — people I’ve performed with, collaborated with, or simply shared playlists and ideas with over time. In fact, for more than half my life now, the majority of my friendships have been with fellow musicians. There’s something about that shared language, the mutual passion, and the understanding of what it means to get lost in a melody or wrestle with a tricky chord progression or rhythm that bonds people in a unique and lasting way.
Teaching here at Stages Music Arts has only deepened that. I’ve realized how reciprocal the student-teacher relationship truly is. I often feel I learn just as much from my students as they (hopefully) do from me. Whether it’s a new artist they’ve turned me on to or simply the fresh perspective they bring to a song, teaching has become an ongoing journey of learning and self-discovery.