That moment of utter silence envelopes you as you finally are released to work independently and instead of listening to random coughing and the tapping of pencils, you instead pop in those earbuds to listen to some relaxing or upbeat music.
Music can help you get into a zone where everything else just flows away and all that’s left is you and your soothing tones. For instance, in class when that one kid decides to keep jabbering on about some football game where the quarterback messes up the game, instead of listening to their jabber, you decide to pop in the earbuds and escape from that argument for once in your high school life.
According to the website The Guardian, “We seem to have two attention systems: a conscious one that enables us to direct our focus towards things we know we want to concentrate on and an unconscious one that shifts attention towards anything our senses pick up that might be significant.”
Listening to your favorite song can help boost your productivity whilst doing work.
According to the website The New York Times, “In biological terms, melodious sounds help encourage the release of dopamine in the reward area of the brain, as would eating a delicacy, looking at something appealing or smelling a pleasant aroma.”
Music is an expression, something not just used to calm yourself down when angered or sad, but as a way the artist speaks out to others.
According to the website eMed Expert, “Music, especially upbeat tunes, can take your mind off what stresses you, and help you feel more positive and optimistic. This helps release stress and can even help you keep from getting stressed over life’s little frustrations in the future.”
The reason most artists write songs is to tell the world what’s going on and to share what they have experienced.
Taylor Swift, a country and pop singer, said about her song “22”, “I wanted to write a song about what my summer had been like, with my friends with that kind of attitude of like ‘We are in our 20’s and we don’t know anything and it’s awesome.’ It’s kind of fun to embrace that and I’ve got to say that’s probably one of the biggest choruses on the record.”
According to the website Bass Connections, “Music is capable of provoking powerful emotions.”
“[I like] “Thinking Out Loud” by Ed Sheeran because it helps me escape time,” said senior P.J. Singh.
If there’s too much noise or just a lot of commotion going on around you, it’s helpful to plug in that music to help you lose track of all the excess distractions and focus more on what you are doing. When there is no alternative to moving from the noisy room, it’s easier to just pop in earphones to escape from the noise and focus easier on your task.
According to Help Scout, “Dr. [Teresa] Lesiuk’s research focuses on how music affects workplace performance. In one study involving information technology specialists, she found that those who listened to music completed their tasks more quickly and came up with better ideas than those who didn’t, because the music improved their mood.”
Depending on what type of music you listen to, it gives off the emotion that will be portrayed in everyday life. If someone is listening to really upbeat rock, they’ll end up being really energetic and happy the rest of the day. Whereas if they listened to something slower, they’ll probably feel more tired and sleepy, or just sad if it’s one of those days.
“I use music just because I enjoy music. I enjoy listening to it. Music cheers me up when I’m sad and calms me down,” said senior Sean Fanning. “I don’t know why but “Lift Me Up” by Five Finger Death Punch, always cheers me up and makes me feel like I can take whatever is thrown at me.”
When bored in class, people end up spacing out or sleeping, but teachers get mad when that happens, so it’s easier to just pop in those earbuds and listen to that jam. Some teachers allow students to listen to music during independent work time when there are no more directions to be given.
“[Music means] everything when I have no one to talk to or [nothing] do,” said freshman Dayanna Porter.
“”I Just Want to be Happy” by Gloria Estefan makes me happy because it reminds me of a dance I did awhile back, and I remember having fun with friends in dance class,” said senior Alexis Kahler.  
Unlike using the independent time to actually listen to music, some students don’t use that time wisely and instead float on social media and play games. With this, there’s not much you can do to stop them besides a stern warning and eventually taking away that device, but enforcing for no electronics the whole time is unfair to those who actually use their time wisely.
Music is an inspiration, an escape, something to go to when there’s nothing else to do. It’s a great way to start and end the day, despite what mood is going around. Next time there’s something big going on or nothing at all, pull up that favorite song and just let it go.