Music has always been there for us. When we’re going through a breakup, driving on a summer day or sitting around a crackling campfire. Our defining moments have affected the music we listen to, and the music we listen to has helped shape certain life events.

Mara Woost, a sophomore at Kent State said, “Music has shaped each era of my life by being there as a comfort and a pick-me-up for all the best and worst times in my life.”

When someone says the word eras, our minds jump to Taylor Swift and her Eras Tour. The music she created during each album was representative of the time period she was in, in her life.

Like Swift’s eras, students have songs that they’ve associated with different times in their lives. Each song reflects on a moment and being able to hold that as a memory. Olivia Buono, a Fashion Merchandising major at Kent State said, “When I was graduating high school I associated that with “Humble and Kind” by Tim McGraw, and when I was deciding where to go to college I associated “A Place In This World” by Taylor Swift.”

Ana Facco, a sophomore at Kent State said, “I always think of 5 Seconds of Summer songs during changes in my life. They are the band I’ve been a fan of since I was 13, so I always listened to them through every major event of my life.” Many of us have a band or artist that is a constant in our lives, whether it’s a new album that encapsulates an era or specific songs that come back as we face what is thrown at us.

The music from one era in our life can make a comeback as well, whether we consciously make the choice or it resurfaces. Woost said, “I started teaching Zumba recently, and I was really inspired to become one after learning a routine to “Evacuate the Dancefloor” by Cascada. Now I teach that same routine at my Zumba classes!”

Music also can change how individuals grow. Lily Roach, a Fashion Merchandising major at Kent State created an analogy for her taste in music, “The music that I listen to defines what era I’m in because music is always developing and changing. If music always stayed the same, there would be no development.”

We can also listen to music and not have it tied down to just one thing. After all, the shuffle button exists for a reason. Sometimes we just like the way a song sounds.

Most of the time, we don’t know we’re going to associate a sound with an era until we look back on it. Facco said,  “I have no idea what era I’m in right now. I’m in a period of change, and this relates to the music I’m listening to. Every day is a mixture between genre and styles.”

Music will continue to be there for us our whole lives. As we grow, music grows with us, and no matter what happens in our lives we can count on music to be a guiding hand through every moment leading us to a new or familiar song. 

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Hi! I’m Annie Gleydura, A Magazine’s editor-in-chief. My staff and I are committed to bringing you the most important and entertaining news from the realms of fashion, beauty and culture. We are full-time students and hard-working journalists. While we get support from the student media fee and earned revenue such as advertising, both of those continue to decline. Your generous gift of any amount will help enhance our student experience as we grow into working professionals. Please go here to donate to A Magazine.