Like most college students, my life is incredibly stressful.
Trying to balance school, work, friends, get enough sleep and somehow trying to retain sanity [or what’s left of it] isn’t easy at all.
In fact, I tend to get really overwhelmed.
Usually to combat stress, I sleep, listen to music, go out and take photos or do yoga.
However, I have recently discovered probably the best way to deal with stress [at least for me]—going to concerts.
Music is one of my biggest passions. I began playing the violin at age seven, switched to the cello at age ten, and have added a few more instruments to the list since then. I don’t only listen to classical, though I do love it. In eighth grade, I discovered punk rock.
I listen to more than just punk. I love pretty much everything ranging from pop-punk to metal. No matter what, music always manages to put me in a better mood and keeps my stress level manageable most of the time.
Back in July, I heard about a two-day concert that six of my all-time favorite bands [one of which I had seen before, but wanted to see live again] would be playing at in October. Naturally, I had to order my tickets right that second, and worry about what October would bring later.
The concert was the first weekend in October. That entire week, I was beyond stressed. I had homework assignments due, two quizzes, a project due, an exam the following week that I needed to study for and work on top of it all.
It was probably one of the worst weeks of the semester at the time.
Friday [day one of the concert] arrived and I was exhausted. I wanted to go, but it seemed like such a hassle and just another thing on my list of things to do.
I got there and immediately was glad I had decided to go. I got to hear my favorite bands live, be around friends, my brother and total strangers that enjoy the same music I do, sing and scream my lungs out, jump, dance, etc. and just in general, have a great time. It was one of the best nights I had experienced in a really long time.
It was a late night, so I slept in the next day. I woke up feeling incredible. All of the stress from the week was gone. I found that I wasn’t frustrated with anything or anyone, worried about my grades or just plain anxious about life.
I don’t exactly know how it happened, but all of the negative energy that was stress had turned positive. I’ve been to concerts before, but I honestly don’t remember the therapeutic effect that they’ve had on me recently.
Even though just listening to music makes me feel better, going to concerts is one of the best experiences. It’s about more than the music. It’s about interacting with and being around people that love the music as much as you do. It’s about being able to stand in front of the people that write the song that gets you through a bad day and realize that person is just a human being. It’s about being able to focus just on the music and shut everything else in the world out.
I’m not sure why, but the concert atmosphere is calming to me. I’m normally afraid of large crowds of people, but I get so lost in the moment and music that it doesn’t even faze me.
Concerts are chaotic. But to me, that chaos is the best place for me to go to in order to escape the troubles of life.
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