Sun (Lindsay) Heslin is a second-year PharmD candidate at the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy.
I’ve always loved music, but for a long time, listening to it seemed mostly like a passive activity to do alongside something else. I never understood why people considered it a hobby. However, I volunteered at my university’s radio station (WUSC) for the past few years, where I began expanding the music I listened to and how I listened to it.
Listening to music is my hobby
I not only found more music through the radio and its library, but I also began building a more intentional process to discover new music, primarily using Spotify’s “Discover Weekly” playlists. I spent time each week seeking out new music and trying to put together a setlist for a radio show, which always felt like a break compared to more demanding school tasks, and realized that “listening to music” really was a hobby in its own right.
With how much music infiltrates into my daily life, expanding my taste and taking time to really think about the music I was listening to goes a long way. I have something to keep me company while I do my daily tasks or study, something to comfort me and make me feel seen when I feel more stressed, and something intentional to engage with during my free time.
However, I think one of music’s biggest impacts is how it’s an art that has the power to share such complex feelings and stories while bringing people together. I’ve made many friends or connections based on sharing an interest in the same artist or even due to sharing appreciation for music in general, even if we don’t regularly listen to the same artists.
Takes me places
My favorite part of music is experiencing it live, which feels like a culmination of its power as you sing or dance along with a crowd, creating a sense of connection with everyone else experiencing the same thing. But most of all, I think what makes live music so impactful for me is that it’s one of the few times I truly find myself living in the moment rather than planning ahead or thinking of everything else I have going on, which is important to have as a busy student pharmacist.
Music has also pushed me out of my comfort zone and literally taken me to new places. Sometimes it’s intimidating to do things alone and I end up missing out on experiences altogether, but something as small as going to more concerts on my own has made me more confident and fulfilled. As someone who also yearns to travel more, music also set the stage for my first big trip without family to go to Chicago for the first time to attend Lollapalooza before I started pharmacy school, one of the best experiences of my life.
While being a student pharmacist becomes more demanding, music allows me to find comfort, take breaks, and live in the moment to overall support a more balanced lifestyle that allows me to put more passion and effort into my other activities.