As I reflect back on Blue Bomb during the last day of homecoming week or concerts I’ve been to, I’ve come to realize how impactful music is. Music can bring people together who don’t even know each other. People you’ve never talked to or acknowledge before somehow become your friend for a few minutes or hours at a concert or event.

When the doors opened at 6 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 7th to let the seniors into the school for Blue Bomb, the first thing people asked about was the speaker. Next thing I knew, there was a giant speaker blasting music. I saw the boys singing along to the songs and girls dancing as they all got to work. Once the school was destroyed in blue, seniors grouped together in the foyer to sing and dance along to whatever was playing. “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond came on, two girls I barely talked to throughout my high school career wrapped their arms around me and we sang at the top our lungs together. I didn’t think about it then, but “Sweet Caroline” and many other songs often bring people at Mill Valley together and makes everyone friends for a few minutes.

Music can also create lifelong friendships. I met one of my closest friends through our similar taste of music. I saw her in my class and told her I liked “The 1975” shirt she was wearing and our friendship grew from there. Our conversations consisted of showing each other new songs, artists or bands. We didn’t hang out at all that summer, but then, out of the blue, she asked me to go to a concert with her the day of and an hour later we were in the car headed to Kansas City.

This venue was packed and we were dead center. Despite the sweat and packed bodies, it was amazing to see people from different places and backgrounds sing the same lyrics and enjoy the same band. For those two hours, every person in that venue had at least one thing in common.

In the moment, we might not realize the way music brings people together. But when you take a step back and watch, there’s something special about the way people sing, dance and listen together to a song.