In NF’s song “Mansion,” the rapper says, “Broken legs, but I chase perfection / These walls are my blank expression / My mind is a home I’m trapped in and it’s lonely inside this mansion.”

NF’s song “Mansion” is about how you can chase perfection but you might not reach it. Some children and adults sometimes feel trapped in their head in self doubt.

Music is a way for a lot of people to process mental health. While others will express themselves through music, a lot of people will listen because of the mental health aspect of it. 

Psychiatric social worker Rosa Escobar said that songs affect mental health helps people feel emotions.

“Music is powerful when it comes to our mental health,” she said. “Meditation music calms us down, especially when we feel stressed or anxious.”

The connection between music and mental health starts at a young age—even as early as when parents sing lullabies to their infants, Escobar said. 

“It helps babies fall asleep and also creates an emotional bond between the caretaker and child,” she said.

Social studies teacher Peta Linsday thinks that music and mental health go hand and hand.

”There was a lot about grunge rock and there were a lot of jokes and a lot of criticism and a lot of worry from adults that music was making kids depressed,” she said.  

Adults worry about the music that kids listen to. However, kids do use music to express themselves and help them feel better in difficult situations.

“For us, it felt like it was just expressing where we were at and kind of like where we’re at in that moment,” said Linsday.

People may have different thoughts about different types of music and how it influences the next generation.

“But it’s not made for me, right?” Lindsay said. “It’s made to express where young people are at this time. And so people in my generation might not understand it and might be afraid of it.”

Some might not like the sound of the music that is produced at this time, but it does create kids that express their feelings. Senior CJ Rivera said that she thinks music really helps her.

“I definitely would say music for me is a way of expression. And for me if I’m going through a tough situation it’s definitely one of my biggest coping mechanisms,” Rivera said.

Music can do a lot of things for different types of people, and this diversity of media can make you feel better about yourself when you’re sad but can also make you really happy.