After a rough day of school, I drive home blaring “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore. Turning up the volume on this mainstream song as loud as possible helps me de-stress from a horrible day as well as pass the time on my fifteen minute drive home.
63.9 percent of students surveyed by The Patriot believe that music completely or mostly defines their personality. The type of music a person listens to is often a way people judge one another’s personality. Music is also a way of connecting with people and make friendships. Music can do all of these things because it can say a lot more about a person than some people think.
Senior Rebecca Kotula sees music not only as enjoyable and a good judge of personality, but also as a way to meet people and become friends. “I think for me [music] largely defines my personality. I rarely find people who share similar musical tastes, and when I do it is fantastic and it makes me want to be friends with them,” Kotula said.
Junior Kaley Martin believes that music has something to do with a person’s personality. “[It shows] what they look for in life and what they enjoy,” Martin said.
Senior Thomas Gardner believes that taste in music is a great indicator of what people are like. “If you only listen to main stream music, you are generally someone whose personality is defined by popular culture. Punk and heavy metal is for people who need to vent. Indie music is for people who want to be seen as individuals. Jazz is for soulful people who are generally open to other genres,” Gardner said.
Freshman Andrea Sipos agrees with Gardner. Sipos believes that “[music] influences how people think and perceive the world around them.”
Those are just some of the music genres and assumptions people can make about them. While some students, like Gardner, Sipos, and Martin, believe that a person’s taste in music can adequately show their personality, other students believe a person’s taste in music has absolutely nothing to do with their personality.
For example, junior Emily Goheen does not agree with Gardner. She believes that music is not a good indicator of what they are like as a person. “I like classical music, but I don’t think [music] really has an effect on who you are,” Goheen said.
Freshman Kelly Foulk said people are surprised to find out her taste in music. “I feel as if my musical tastes represent a side of me that I don’t show too often. Often when I tell people what type of music I like to listen to they are surprised and don’t see me as the type of person who would listen to that type of music,” Foulk said.
Senior Kristina Aragon has a somewhat different opinion. She believes that only some people can be judged accurately based on their taste in music. “Even though I listen to R&B the most, I also listen to other genres. I feel like it depends on the person. If someone listens to rock, they look like they listen to it. I am a mellow person, which is what R&B is. I like music you can jam out to, so I feel like it means I like to have fun,” Aragon said.
Teens listen to music for a variety of reasons. When surveyed by The Patriot, students gave a wide array of answers. While 90.9 percent of students who participated in the survey said that they listen for enjoyment, others said that they listen to music “to explain something I cannot find the words for,” “[to] express myself,” “[for] inspiration,” “to concentrate,” and “to get pumped up for a sports game,” among other reasons.
Music can affect people in very different ways, from changing their mood to changing their personality. Senior Connor Sheward has a unique taste in music also. “I’m different than most people and I have an eclectic taste in music it also says that I can deal with a lot of situations and I can power through the struggles of life,” Sheward said.
Ashley Beyer is a Lifestyles Editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.