Music that made you

When You Remember The Songs That Make You Happy

What songs define who you became

As I was working on a story about reinventing myself, I started reminiscing about all the jobs I have held over the years, some good, some not so good.

Along with the memories of those jobs, I remembered some of the music from those days, and I thought, hey, that would be a good thing to write about. Besides, I can take a page out of Sherry McGuinn’s book of ideas, and tag/challenge some of my favorite Medium Peep to share the music that has helped define who they are.

Sometimes distractions lead to creativity through the diversity of thoughts and ideas. Add to that variety of people in your circle of influence, and you have a gold mine of fresh material.

When it came to resume, I used to tell people, ask me where I haven’t worked, it would be a shorter list. I had a very low tolerance for idiot managers and stupid bosses. For many years, one of my theme songs was a Johnny Paycheck classic. You probably know it, but in case you’ve not heard it, here it is.

https://youtu.be/gj2iGAifSNI?list=RDEM1GmnG7sd6guHt7KVJ60Geg

One of those bosses was Gus Kimball. His mission in life, it seemed, was to convince me to buy a new car. I never considered a vehicle to be a status symbol, not then, not now. Whenever I think of Gus, it reminds me of the title cut from my favorite album of all times, Grand Illusion by Styx. The final stanza sums it up for me. I wrote it behind the picture I took of his brand new company car, and I was going to gift it to him, but one of my co-workers talked me out of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nO62scTZ7Qk

Speaking of the Amerian way, here is another rebel hippy song of those days by Billy Joel, yes, Billy Joel. A Hippy Rebel is not precisely the image that comes to mind when you think of Billy Joel, but he wrote My Life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3JFEfdK_Ls

Finally, how can any list be complete without including the song that was the undisputed anthem of a generation? I remember sitting around on the couch in my apartment with friends and passing around a Colombian doobie and listening to it forever. Damn, it’s twelve minutes long.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2ndb_lt4xA

Talk about feeling free.

Now it’s your turn. What songs have made an impact on your life or help mold it? Rosennab Julia E Hubbel Timothy Key P.G. Barnett Holly Jahangiri Kathryn A. LeRoy, Ph.D. Gurpreet Dhariwal Henery X (long) George J. Ziogas Paul Myers MBA Kevin Buddaeus Salam Khan Elisabeth Khan Marilyn Flower Diane Overcash Michele Thill 🦄 Chris Hedges Charles Roast René Junge Dipti Pande Desiree Driesenaar Amy Marley Selma Simran Kankas Tom Byers

As always, thank you for reading and responding.

More about me:

Rasheed Hooda is a published author and a regular contributor to ILLUMINATION, a writers’ community on Medium where writers support each other.

He is a self-proclaimed weirdo who lives a Freedom Lifestyle and writes about related topics — Travel (a top writer), Personal Growth, Freedom, and entrepreneurship. (Get the Newsletter)

“You can let others tell you what it means to be successful, or you can decide it for yourself.”