Recently, I stumbled upon the drawer that was home to my high school mix CDs. After to listening to them, I was a little shocked for a few reasons.

One, the songs were senselessly grouped together. Just as I was tapping my fingers to an up-tempo beat, a slow, acoustic number would follow — effectively killing the mood.

Besides the organization, the selection stunned me the most. At one point in time, these were the songs I regarded as my favorites. I would craft the playlists anxiously and promptly press replay whenever the CD went silent. Now, though, the lead singer’s voice sounded whiny, and the lyrics were hard to relate to.

Although I wasn’t as mesmerized by the music as I used to be, I kept listening for a different reason. My mind was flooded with memories of high school. I could see my friends screaming the words to these songs in my car. When I heard the beginning of a slow sad song, I tasted what I thought was my first heartbreak all over again.

The experience made me realize how much music impacts our memories. Sometimes, for the better, our nostalgia can enrich each note and give the words meaning. Other times, for the worse, a song is ruined with a fight or painful image.

Country music from the 90s will forever hold a place in my heart. During harvest time, I would ride with my dad in the combine to the tunes of Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw. Whenever I hear those songs, it’s like I’m at the farm again, sitting in the truck with hot wind on my face.

Classic rock makes me think of when I discovered music on my own. I used to lie on the cold wood floor in my bedroom next to my radio, listening to The Beatles and Fleetwood Mac. Even though the melodies were made decades before I was born, they still struck a chord with me.

Typically, a song is only three or four minutes long; think about how many memories live inside that short amount of time. While every memory made within a song isn’t good, they give us something to reflect on.

If something is playing that makes you want to dance in a way that might be confused with a seizure, just go for it. Years later, you’ll look back and laugh every time you hear that song. Life is composed of thousands of three or four minute time spans. It’s up to you to create your own soundtrack to go along with it.