“Without music, life would be a mistake,” said german philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

And I couldn’t agree more. I know it sounds cliché but what Nietzche says is true. Music is life. I wouldn´t know how my life would be without loud speakers.

There are very few moments in my day without music. To wake up or go to bed, to get ready or exercise, if I’m happy or sad, relaxed or stressed, it’s always keeping me company.

That’s what’s so great about music, its versatility and diversity, its capacity to reflect any feeling. Songs are never the same, you can hear one song a million times and feel something different each time. Besides, there is always more music to discover, and artists to listen to.

I should confess that in my free time, I can spend hours looking up new music and jumping from artist to artist exploring new rhythms and sensations. If I’m alone I like to watch concerts on TV. I love imitating the artists and learning the lyrics to all the songs. It’s the best way to express myself.

Music is my best friend, my psychiatrist, my boyfriend, my eternal and unconditional company. I promise I’m not exaggerating.

And it has always been that way, ever since I have memory. In fact, for my first communion my parents gifted me a discman, remember those?

I think in part, this big love for music stems from my family. My paternal grandfather, Gastón Vega, was one of the first opera singers in Colombia. He started singing in the 50’s, when there wasn’t even a theater designed for this kind of music. The tenor whose last name I inherited sang Verdi’s Traviata (a very famous opera that happened to be his favorite) in many places around the world, like Europe, United States and some Latin American countries.

My grandfather passed away when I was only a year and a half, but I have gotten to know him through the stories my dad tells and specially through music. As a kid I got used to riding in my dad’s car, where he would play a song and say “your grandpa loved this one” or “your grandpa used to sing this song…”

That musical influence that comes from my father and grandfather is still alive in me.

And from my mom…Well, she is the person that taught me that music makes any task much better. When she cooked dinner, she always played music loudly, and I loved it.

My mom’s not the only one that knows music makes everything better, science has proved it. These are some interesting facts I learned about music:

1. Listening to music “turns on” the area of our brain associated with pleasure.
2. Our brain produces dopamine—aka the “happiness” hormone—when we listen to music we like.
3. Cheerful and energetic music can help alleviate symptoms of depression, insomnia and anxiety.
4. Listening to soft harmonies may reduce the production of cortisol, the hormone that produces stress.
5. A massage and listening to music can have the same relaxing effect on our brain. .
6. While you’re driving, try listening to relaxing music to manage your road rage (Bogotá this is for you).

And these are only a few examples of the power of music. Seeing it this way, I think the world should be one great concert forever. Imagine how happy and peaceful we would be if we all lived that way?

I think by now it’s clear how much of an important role music plays in my life. Music has an influence in how I feel, it helps me create and gives me pure happiness, or may I say pure dopamine?

So, I believe that adding some more rhythm to your days can only be good.

Now tell me, what does music mean to you? How much of a music lover are you?

Here is a song that I am listening to lately, it helps me relax, concentrate o simply put’s me in zen mode.