Carson Krogman ’29
Hometown
Spencer, Iowa
Academic Interest
Computer Science
Music is a very big part of my everyday life, as it is for most people. Music has therefore made its way into many important memories in my life as well as several routines. As an avid runner, I often use music as a way to motivate and entertain myself before, during, and after runs. Based on what I have learned from others, I seem to be a bit of an odd duck in the sense that I rarely listen deep into the meaning of the lyrics in songs. Instead, I focus more on the rhythm and voice of the artist. This habit then causes me to frequently attach my own meaning to the music I listen to and connect it to many of my personal achievements or memories. Music has a way of attaching itself to our memories, reminding us of them after every listen, and just as much, we have a way of attaching our own meaning to certain songs. This habit of both the music and ourselves causes it to become an exceptional part of our lives, and as a result, people create their own unique playlists that hold meaning in all parts of their lives. My playlist is very unique and follows no pattern apart from the correspondence to my present interests.
As a kid, my parents would take me and my sister to the public pool at almost every chance we got. Some of what I loved most about going to the pool was the giant cookie that my parents would get me from the concessions stand during the pool’s mandatory 15-minute breaks, in which we weren’t allowed to swim. The pool also played music, which was much more apparent when you were out of the water. The playlist only had what seemed to be about a dozen songs; as a result, many of these songs have engraved themselves into my many memories at the pool. One song in particular that always resurfaces these memories is the 2015 “Stressed Out” by Twenty One Pilots. I fondly remember this song playing while I was excitedly walking into the pool for a fun day of swimming. When I hear this song today, it makes me feel as though I am once again walking into the pool with my family, sporting a smile on my face from ear to ear.
During my daily life, music is almost always playing in one way or another. The playlist for my life is full of variety, and nearly every aspect of my life has a song that I connect to it. In most cases these songs are not connected to me in the way that the lyrics intend. Instead, I attach my own meanings that I have created. As I keep making more memories, I will continue adding to my playlist. It will go on and on until the day that I die.