Photo courtesy of Sophia Maxwell

Junior Sophia Maxwell works on her Calculus homework while listening to music.

It was 12:47am at night. I was sitting in my room, listening to Chief Keef and writing my English essay that was due by 8:00am that same morning. I had my speaker turned up all the way, and I felt the bass slightly vibrate my creaky wooden desk. The words seemed to flow from my fingertips. Every lyric, note and beat felt entrapped in my mind as I experienced new levels of serotonin and bursts of motivation. Once finished, I closed the nine tabs I had opened on my browser, submitted the essay and went to bed.

The mind of the average student today is a difficult one to understand. Kids of all ages encounter different stressors and challenges as a result of having to endure the burden of online schooling and being stuck at home. Whether it be the seemingly endless cesspool of assignments that teachers empty onto their pupils every day or the boredom that coincides with being forced to stay inside, students utilize a variety of different ways to cope with these challenges, a major factor is music.

The average day of a student consists of classes between 9:00am and 2:40.That leaves hours of downtime which are often filled by watching TV and movies, scrolling through social media and monotonous chores. For many students, motivation can be hard to obtain, so they look to music to rid themselves of boredom.

“Music just gave me an escape from watching shows, honestly. I was watching so much TV at the beginning of quarantine and not getting anything done. But when I started to listen to music while doing work, I didn’t need TV to keep me entertained,” senior Sophia Maxwell said.

“Tame Impala was more effective because their music is super relaxing and good for doing work.” Maxwell said.

Maxwell’s experience demonstrates that not only does music provide an escape from potentially unproductive or unhealthy activities, but that because there are so many artists to be discovered, students can truly fine tune their music preferences to help them remain motivated and productive.

Not only does music accompany kids during the school day while they’re trapped inside, but it also goes with them when they play sports and go outside.

“Music has really had a positive effect on me over quarantine because I listen to it when I get bored or when I’m doing something like playing basketball. It keeps me motivated and in a good mood, depending on what I listen to,” senior Chris Reilly said.

During these challenging times, music has become an outlet. An escape. For many students, it’s what is keeping them motivated and productive.

“Throughout the quarantine, music has positively helped to motivate me to workout and study,” senior Nina Siboni said.

“Morgan Wallen has been one of my favorites because his voice is super calming and helps me focus.” Siboni said.

Not only does it make an impact in students’ school work, but helps to increase endorphins and helps them stay active.

This goes to show a lot about how music really keeps a person in tune with their studies and everyday life. It keeps them happy, motivated, productive and helps to reduce bad habits like excessive screen time. I think we can unequivocally say that maybe a little bit of music every day can go a long way, for everyone.