Music has been an influential part of my life for as long as I can remember. When I was younger, I had a little MP3 player that I listened to nonstop. When I got a little older, I got an iPod. When I turned 10 years old, I got my first phone. I always downloaded music on my various devices, and I love to listen to it. I listen to music at school, in the car, at home, in the locker room, and anywhere that I can. If I had records of the music that I listened to throughout my life, you could probably see a trend of more and more mature topics. Throughout my life, music has been a crucial factor in molding me into the person I am today.
Music has helped me bond with many family members, such as my mom, my brother, my grandpa. It has also helped me bond with many friends, such as Gavin, Jack, and Zach. My mom and brother have been the main people to influence the types of music that I listen to because we are around each other so much.  Due to their influence, I have a very similar taste in music to them.  Having similar tastes has allowed us to enjoy being around each other more.  We appreciate the same music in the car, while we’re falling asleep, and in any other place that has music. 
During the hockey season, I would ride in Gavin’s car on the way to the rink, and I would usually be the one to put on whatever music we wanted. The ability to put on any song we wanted at any time made the ride a lot more fun. Gavin bought subwoofers for his car a while back, and having the loud subs shaking the car all the time just made the whole experience much more fun. Being able to link such good memories to people just makes you that much more fond of them.
The music I listen to always depends on my mood. Music is funny because it somewhat resonates with my personality. It’s not always music as a whole, but sometimes a particular song can just give me a weird feeling. The feeling is strange because it is a very neutral mood; I don’t know how I feel. It feels like a light gray sky; it isn’t raining, and it isn’t sunny. I’m not happy, nor am I sad. When I feel this way, some songs just give me a “yes” kind of feeling; “This is how I feel.” In a sense, music understands me better than I do. I have good days and bad days, like anyone else. I can listen to upbeat music, or sad music to correspond with my emotions. Sometimes, music can change my mood; if I’m tired, I can listen to upbeat music to make myself motivated and energetic.  If I’m wide awake and trying to sleep, I can listen to sad, or slow music to make myself fall asleep.  My mood can influence the music that I listen to, and the music listen to can influence my mood. 
In addition to loving to listen to music, I also love to produce my own music. My grandpa got me my first guitar for my 10th birthday. My grandpa and I still love to hang out and play guitar and learn new songs. We have a large variety of guitars, amplifiers, and audio production tools. It has helped us become closer for over 6 years.  My guitars were the first thing that allowed me to understand and appreciate music and its production.
Not only do I appreciate guitars and that genre of music as a whole, but I also create music that fits a “modern” style.  This style of music is using synthesized instruments, and isn’t recorded by a microphone.  This hobby fills much of my free time and helps me appreciate much of the music I hear today. If I hear a song, I listen carefully to dissect its different instruments and drums. It makes me appreciate unique sounds because I know how much time that creating that perfect sound can take. My music can be an extension of myself because I can mold it to mimic how I feel. Putting emotion into it  helps make the final product better. You know the feeling that the song should give the listener; it makes selecting instruments and drums that set that tone a lot easier.
Overall, music has been a huge part of my life since I can remember.  Music has been a major factor in bonding with family and friends. It helps me understand my emotions.  The music I listen to matures over time, just as I do; I went from repetitive nonsense with no topic when I was little, to deep and emotional music now that I’m older.   Making music has also affected me a lot.  Not only has it been fun, as it takes much of my free time, my music is a part of me. When someone listens to my music, that person can resonate with the emotion I put into the song. The more I progress as a person, the more my music progresses with me.