WP2| High School-Now

In High School I can say that I truly found myself and who I wanted to be. My music greatly reflected this as well. I went from listening to a wide variety of music to just r&b and rap. Through listening to the playlist you will find that all of the music will begin to sound like they convey the same message. I started listening to music that empowered me such as female rappers like Flo Milli that expresses how she is a strong woman that doesn’t need a significant other to soothe her ego. Music from Beyonce made me feel confident of the skin that i’m in and that I can be or do whatever I want. However, you will also find some sad songs or self-discovery songs from SZA and Amy Winehouse because everyday wasn’t easy in high school and even now. Within finding yourself you also lose parts of you and people that you thought would always be around. SZA’s music throughout my teenage years really verbalized the feelings that I was going through. I got to grow with her and even her music now where she emphasizes this self-discovery in “Good Days”. A record that I play almost every morning to remind myself that although things aren’t perfect, everything will be okay. That all the struggles that I had within myself were all to help me become who I am now.

Mental Health Impact:

The impact that these songs have had on my mental health over the years has been positive because I have been able to express myself. Although I’m not the one writing the songs and getting my inner thoughts out, the artists are seemingly doing it for me. Knowing that there is a song out there that expresses how I am feeling and is available at any point in time has helped me so much. I am the type of person that doesn’t like burdening other people with my problems so being able to get these emotions out in this way truly helps.