Music is certainly a key driver for my daily energy dose! I believe music has the power to make people travel without moving an inch. It transports you to another place that maybe doesn’t exist anymore (or never existed). Music brings life to every single emotion we feel. Music connects faiths, souls, religions, and people from all over the world and all kinds of backgrounds. I am sure I wouldn’t be able to live without such a meaningful medium as music.

Since Spotify popped into our lives, it has turned into my best pal every morning, whether I’m commuting on the Tube, focusing at work, relaxing at a park, or even traveling without moving from my bed. I got to know the app through a Swedish friend around 2010, when Spotify was very fresh and not many people knew about it. He sent me an invite so I could try it out, and I just loved it. It was unique at that moment in time. It was the solution to my problem of being unable to download all the music that I wanted and then upload it to my iPod. After I subscribed to the platform, I was never interested in trying other music apps. Once all my playlists were done, Spotify had provided me with everything I needed—as it continues to do. I have accessibility to all kinds of music at any time.

Strangely, I never learned to play any kind of musical instrument, which is still one of my dreams, especially violin, piano, and saxophone. I never had a strong musical influence in my family. I would say I was influenced to appreciate[?] certain musical styles by many artists. Elton John is an important one: My mom used to play his music every Sunday when we were waking up for breakfast. To be honest, I didn’t like his music at that time. Nowadays, I consider him one of my favorite artists because through his music he connects me with my family, who live an ocean away from me. It brings me back to our Sunday morning breakfasts, which don’t exist anymore, but when I play his music I can still smell the toast being made. That’s the beauty and magic of music!