i grew up in a household where music constantly filled the air. whether it was the radio blasting, my mom or dad playing the piano, or my then-6-year-old sister (who’s now 20 by the way) belting her voice out to madonna’s “crazy for you”—there was never a drop of silence.

like other forms of art, music is a form of expression. it makes me feel. it connects me to strangers. it provides me with another medium of communication. the way that strings can be combined with keys, vocals and drum beats to create melodies fascinates me in ways different from other forms of art.

when i listen to music, i feel my heart beat in sync with tunes of emotions that echo from memories of a distant past, a close present, or imaginations of an even further future.

but in spite of the art that music is, it is also what fills the void that silence brings.

as the saying goes, “silence screams louder than noise”, and this truthful realization just might be the reason why music has come to play an even more prevalent role in my daily life today.

for some, with silence comes notions of serenity. however, in my mind, silence only brings me disquiet—occupied with a seemingly unavoidable and inexhaustible string of thoughts.

perhaps this is why i tend to find myself playing music in the background of my days because at least when music is around, the voices in my head don’t sing to an empty tune alone.

–k.t.

july 2019