When I was a freshman in high school I joined the tennis team. The courts we practiced at were a 5-10 minute drive away from the school, so everyday our coaches would load us into the vans and drive us there. I remember the drives in particular, because when our practices ended it would be the heart of commute hour and getting back on the freeway was not pretty. Second, the head coach apparently loved classical music, so day after day, after those long grueling practices, he'd find his favorite classical music station and just let it play. As a young 14-15 year old who was listening to only pop and rock music, classical music was agony. I didn't mind instrumental music at the time, but classical music was an entirely different class on its own and I cringed; gripping my racket tightly until we arrived back at campus. (You have to understand that the ipod had only been recently introduced in the past year or two, so a majority of people still used CD players which were a bit cumbersome to carry around.)
I still recall my teenage opinions on classical music. "Why would you listen to something so boring? So dull?! *insert teenage sound* UGH!! It's more distracting than it is soothing!" "I don't care what studies have shown, dad! I cannot study for a test with that playing! Turn it off! *gives dad a glare* " Alas, my appreciation for music was crude and under developed, though I concur to this day that heavy metal is and always is a pain to hear. That's a different story though.
Jump to college; I'm commuting to campus desperately trying to remember the developmental stages of a child for my exam later that morning. I continue to flip stations because I am sick of hearing Bruno Mar's "Grenade", and I personally cannot stand Adele's voice or listen to Katy Perry's "Fireworks" one more time without wanting to scream my head off. I flip to the country station saved, but the song is too distracting...what's left?! I finally settle on a station I found the previous day. A classical music station. My mind begins to relax and I feel my muscles loosening up. I'm alert as I drive, but can focus on reciting the developmental stages without feeling too distracted either. "Thank goodness there is classical music!!"
Despite still enjoying pop music, the radio stations I preferred seem to repeat the same songs over and over. It was either that or I disliked like the artist. It agitated me and that led to my trial period with country music which I concluded was tolerable to an extent. Truly though, classical music saved me during those years of commuting. Being overly stressed with exams, presentations and projects, I couldn't spare a moment of distraction and music was always the most subtle form of distraction. Classical music, became the exception as it soothed my stressed mind and enabled me to focus on my studies. My anxieties were kept at bay as long as I had classical music.
Present time. I've taken a growing interest in oldies (Frank Sinatra, Elvis, Beatles, etc) and jazz. When it's just me in the car, I immediately flip to the jazz station and leave it there. My mom and sister are still quite surprised that I like jazz. However, there are days when I'm at home and I open my itunes radio and choose classical music over every other genre. And while I'm listening to the music, I end up smiling as I reminiscent about my teenage years and the agony classical music used to bring me. What would the teenage, moody high school me say about my taste in music? Would she be horrified? Disgusted? Whatever her question, I like to think that I'd respond by saying "Just to spite you." The truth is simple though. I'm growing older and hopefully maturing *laughs*, I have an appreciation for things I could not when I was younger because of my experiences since. I would tell my younger self "to appreciate the days you have now, but do not scoff at the world because you're young and inexperienced. You may like something and hate another thing today, but in a year or two it might be the opposite."
