Music is often a reflection of who we are as people. In other words, if I listen to heavy metal I probably wouldn’t be in the best mood, and I if I listen to the song “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, well, you get the idea.

Over the course of high school, as my music tastes have changed, I too have changed as a person- a change I believe to be for the better.

As I look back at freshman year, I listened to a lot of Aloe Blacc and Passenger. They’re two artists who I would consider to be a little more on the hipster side of things, as they were relatively new names just becoming big in the music industry at the time. The way I see it, that’s very fitting considering it was my first year at Chelsea High School and everything was new; including my personality.

Sophomore year was a little more confusing, as my music ranged from Muse to Jimmy Eat World with the occasional Of Monsters and Men. A part of me was obviously still clinging to the hipster version of myself with Of Monsters and Men, but the combination of Muse and Jimmy Eat World shows my self-confliction, that everyone goes through at some point, about what kind of person I wanted to be.

Junior year. I’m now at a new school and I figure it’s time to become a new person. Therefore, I obviously resorted to rap music. NWA, Drake, E-40, Big Sean, Kanye, really anything to get my fix. It represents a time in my life when I was confused, hype, and felt like the world was for my taking; a rather natural feeling for the son of the new superintendent. But don’t worry, I’ve humbled down since then.

Now, in my final year I have, as you may have guessed, a new taste for melodies. At the beginning of the year, it was still rap. As the months went on, I changed to the Beatles. Then to classic rock, Bon Jovi, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, you name it. Now, I’ve settled for a healthy mixture of Bee Gees and The Avett Brothers. My takeaway is that as senior has gone by, I’ve calmed down and brought myself back down to earth. It is my calm before the storm, the storm of course being college.

Over my past four years I’ve recognized that change is inevitable. You switch schools, you make new friends, people become needy for more snow days and music taste changes. Inevitability just means that something good is going to come eventually.

And the good behind it all is that change brings out your true self, which I feel I am either close to finding, or am far from it. Either way, I’m excited for the future. Which, by my rapid variance in music, is not the future of a disc jockey.