While walking out of class, you put on a pair of headphones to block out the noise of students transitioning between classes, making their way to get coffee or meeting up with their friends.

You may be listening to your favorite band or whatever your Pandora station decides to bring on next.

Whatever the case, music is probably something you and your friends listen to when you hang out or attend a social gathering, something you turn to when you’re bored or even when doing your statistics homework.

But it really is so much more than just that.

Music in our generation has become a quintessential part of our culture.

Music is a gateway to the soul. It not only tells others your personal interests and dislikes, it tells more about yourself as a person, much more than many people could put into words or express in any other way.

The lyrics to music are composed of feelings, stories and lessons the singer, writer or producer has experienced; or things they feel like listeners and fans can really relate to.

That’s why we use it to express ourselves.

It is much more than just sounds and words that are transpired into a song. It’s about what it means to each person.

Every single person on Earth could listen to the same song sang by the same person, and interpret it different ways in relation to their own lives.

We, as humans, all have a different set of experiences which change the way we feel and interpret different things in our personal lives. One person could see a song as their own personal anthem, while someone else could decide it was a sorry excuse for a song.

Overall, music helps us express how we feel. A single song can describe a national issue (“Same Love” by Macklemore), it can touch on lessons learned the hard way (“Fifteen” by Taylor Swift), a broken heart (“Not Over You” by Gavin Degraw) or even the best day of your life (“Footloose” by Blake Shelton).

We cling to music. We cling to anything that makes us, as a whole, feel as if we’re not alone in the world because someone else has gone through the same thing. It’s something that rings within us and ultimately comes to a deeper meaning. Music is up for interpretation. It’s up to you to give it meaning and that’s why we love it.

So next time you’re using your headphones to block out the noise or make your boring homework more lively, think about what it means to you and why you love the kind of music that you do.