Art by Betsy Burrow
Transparency Item: This is the opinion and perspective of the writer.
Throughout my life, being an international student has proved to have both advantages and disadvantages. I have been able to experience new cultures, places to explore and make life-long friends across the world. However, I am also familiar with saying goodbye and closing important chapters of my life.
I was born in Spain and lived in Mexico and Peru, all before coming to college in the U.S. a few years ago. I grew up lacking sense of identity, hating the question “where are you from?” because I never really knew what to answer.
I consider my life to be equally influenced by all the places I have moved to, yet none enough to confidently call them ‘my place.’ Home isn’t a temporary place, but a lifelong collection of memories.
As confusing as it has been to grow up exposed to that much change, I have learned to appreciate it. Oddly enough, when I reflect back on my life goodbyes don’t feel nostalgic or sad because I have chosen to keep my memories of those places alive. I constantly find myself reaching to music to do this.
Music reveals the true soul of a place. Many times, music is heavily influenced by the vibrant sounds of a culture, traditional instruments and shared experiences. I have found specific songs perfectly translate my experience in all of the places I have lived in.
I am surely not the only one who associates songs with memories because I listened to them on repeat, or related to the lyrics. Music is a form of transportation, able to take you back to a specific place or moment as if no time had passed, stirring back old feelings and memories.
I use music as my favorite form of transportation when I want to connect with the collection of pieces that make up who I am today. “Colgando en tus manos” when I want to remember the playground I used to run around with my friends on my first home in Spain. “Mexico en la Piel” when I want to remember the first Independence Day I celebrated with my grandparents in Mexico. “Cuando Pienses en Volver” when I want to remember getting ready to walk across the stage at my high school graduation in Peru. “Back On ‘74” when I want to remember the struggle of ubering to Ralph’s Beach during my freshman year in Malibu.
However, in the same way I seek music to remember these moments, I am instantly transported and equally recharged when a song comes up unexpectedly. I am instantly transported and equally recharged.
When I click on an old playlist and a song that I associate with any of those places comes up, I am immediately reminded of what it was to like there and to be surrounded by my people. Even without a prior thought of any of my past homes, a song can seamlessly take me there and evoke emotions I didn’t know I had.
Living away from home, far away from family and the people I grew up with has its struggles, and feeling connected to a place that is not tangible anymore is hard. Music allows me to reconnect, remember and relive, even if it is just for a few minutes.
To me, home is all those places, all those people and all the experiences I have lived at each place. Even if I am not there physically anymore or the moments have long passed, I know through music and songs that I will always have a little piece of home, just a play button away.
___________________
Follow the Graphic on X: @PeppGraphic
Contact Karla Suzuki via email: karla.suzuki@pepperdine.edu