Hello everyone! This semester, my inquiry question was “what is the relationship between music and trauma?” I learned a lot from this project, and here is my final reflection!
What challenges did you overcome throughout this Inquiry project? How did you go about
overcoming these challenges?
The most challenging part for me was finding articles and sources about my topic because it’s so specific, and there aren’t too many people who have researched it. There were very few websites that spoke about music and trauma at the same time. I eventually realized that to find good information, I would have to break my topic up into broader subjects. For example, instead of trying to find articles that researched the relationship between music and trauma directly, I looked at articles about music and mental health, or articles about healthy coping mechanisms that PTSD survivors use daily. By changing how I searched for information, I was able to find good connections that led to answering my question, and I found very interesting articles.
How did this Inquiry change the way you think?
My Inquiry project changed the way I think about healing from trauma, and healing in general. When people are going through tough times, the most frequent piece of advice given is to talk to someone, whether that be a therapist, a family member, or a friend. However, that isn’t the only thing you can do. For many people, talking about their emotions out loud or with a therapist doesn’t help them. Music can be an alternative. While it can’t completely replace therapy, I’ve learned that music is such a powerful thing, and it can be very beneficial to people’s healing processes. It’s also free, whereas in-person therapy isn’t always affordable. Overall, I’ve realized that there are so many different types of therapies, and different things will work for everyone.
How did this investigation impact your future decisions?
This Inquiry project has given me a better understanding of trauma, and healing from it. I’ve learned that there are so many things out there that can help someone heal, and that there are also many mechanisms that haven’t even been discovered yet. Recently I have been very interested in psychology, and this Inquiry made me realize that I want to know more about trauma, and in the future, I want to do something related to helping children and adults heal from PTSD.
What impact will this investigation have on others locally and/or globally?
I believe that this investigation will help others understand that healing means something different for everyone in the world. I also hope that music will be more commonly recognized as a type of therapy in the future. As of now, many places in the world are starting to understand how beneficial and powerful music can be, and I hope that this can continue. My uncle is a social worker, and a few years ago, he opened up a school for girls in Nepal who had experienced trauma. In Nepal, sex trafficking for girls is extremely common, so these schools help get them away from it, and provide a safe space for them to heal. One of the main things my uncle’s school provides is music therapy. The girls get to try all sorts of different instruments, and learn about different styles and genres. Sometimes they even build instruments with scrap materials! My point is that music has helped so many of them heal, and reconnect with the world, and that is such a powerful thing. I really hope that this topic will be spoken more about in the future so people will understand the importance of it, and so they can realize that such a simple thing like music can do so much.
