The Soundtrack of Our Lives

When I read yesterday that entertainment diva Jennifer Lopez broke down in tears during a recent performance that included reenactments of her love life, I could relate.

I consider myself musically oriented. I learned to play piano when I was 6. (I’ll have to pick it up again.) I love almost all kinds of music except most country and rap. I have 649 songs on my iPod Touch so far, spanning the 1960s to Coldplay’s “Fix You.”

Most important, songs play a major part of my life. I can tell you what song was playing during a certain event.

For example, I danced my first slow dance at a chaperoned high school party to “As” by Stevie Wonder. To the strains of Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman,” I studied mass communications at UC Davis while working as a reporter for the campus radio station. While waiting in line to get my bachelor’s degree, some of my fellow graduates sang Queen’s “We Are the Champions.” Swing Out Sister’s “Breakout” came out when I was enrolled in a journalism boot camp that launched my 12-year career. On a road trip to Monterey, I blasted Gwen Stefani’s “What You Waiting For?”

Not all the memories were pleasant. In the mid-1970s, I had junior high school classmates sing that awful “Brother Louie” by Stories. I was once dumped while Gloria Estefan’s “Don’t Wanna Lose You” played in the background.

But all those songs are as much a part of me as the books I’ve read, the places I’ve traveled, and the experiences I’ve had. To some people, they’re just songs. To me, they’re the soundtrack of my life.

However, I don’t have a theme song, yet. My brother H2 the Lionhearted has one – “You’re Still a Young Man” by Tower of Power. (Don’t ask why.) I wouldn’t be surprised if it were played at his funeral.

Maybe I should adopt Natalie Bedingfield’s “Unwritten.” After all, I’m a writer. And much of my life has yet to be written.

Which songs are on your life soundtrack?

Writing Diva