Much like Josh, my love for music developed at a young age. In fact, I can remember getting my first CD player on Christmas morning, when I was just seven years old. Along with it came a gift certificate to Circuit City—a big-box electronics retailer here in the U.S. Among my first purchases as a Circuit City (gift) cardholder were the Spice Girls’ Spice album, the Backstreet Boys’ Backstreet’s Back, and Will Smith’s Big Willie Style. And I, too, can remember sitting on the floor of my bedroom, listening to my new treasure trove of CDs—hit singles like “Getting’ Jiggy Wit It” on constant repeat—singing along, sometimes alone, and sometimes in full-on karaoke mode with my childhood best friend, Candace.
But it was during middle school that my passion for music really deepened. This was a time during which I, like most of my peers, was changing—fiercely. Oftentimes, I found myself feeling “alone,” as I attempted to navigate the woes of puberty and an ever-shifting friend group. In addition to writing, music became a tremendous (and crucial) outlet for me.
As Josh alluded to in his journal entry, I also began to realize that there was something extremely spiritual about finding new songs to connect with—songs that resonated with me on a much deeper, subconscious level.
