Just Press Play

Just press play

November 14, 2025

I dread my morning walk to school. It’s ironic really, I love my school, and I love to walk, but I hate my walk to school. Every day I wake up and tell myself I’m going to dress cute, do my hair and makeup, and enjoy the stroll. Yet every day when I get to class, out of breath and sweaty, I ask myself why in the world I would waste a cute fit and a full beat when the walk destroys it anyway. I tell you my thought process to really reiterate HOW MUCH I hate this morning walk. Now that you all know my innermost thoughts and feelings about exercise, I’ll tell you how I salvage the short, yet torturous, trek.

My wired Apple headphones are my saving grace. The magnificent vessel that carries music from my phone to my ear. I can press play on Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving, and I feel like I’m in my own coming of age rom-com. I can press play on Tate McCrae’s So Close To What, and I’m suddenly a star on stage performing in front of thousands of people. Or I can press play on Calvin Harris’s Summer, and I’m driving down PCH with my girls, windows down, sun shining. The possibilities really are endless.

I think it’s actually overlooked and under appreciated how powerful music is in shaping our everyday lives and experiences. Even the way we associate music with specific moments in our lives speaks volumes. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was September 2021, and senior year of high school was just around the corner. The leaves were changing colors. I had just gotten my very first car. Life was good. Right around this time, Drake released his album Certified Lover Boy. Now every time I hear Yebba’s Heartbreak I find myself back in that car, on my way to school, sipping my coffee, excited for first period U.S Gov.

Music is a silent architect in our lives. It has the power to change how we are feeling. The power to change our view on the world. The power to change how we see ourselves. Next time you find yourself bored, sad, excited, nervous, or feeling any other emotion in the English dictionary, just remember what Addison Rae said: “So I put my headphones on; Listen to my favorite song”.

Basically, what I’m saying is, Just. Press. Play.