You are in the car singing the songs of your favorite artist: it is a scene that many have become more than familiar with. However, for junior Milo Rodriguez, it was that moment that ignited their lifelong passion.

Through car rides and unfamiliar words, Milo slowly found himself falling in love with the vast, unknown world that music had to offer for him.

“When I was little, I would always listen to a Puerto Rican artist,” Milo said. “I think her name was India. I used to listen to her all the time in my dad’s car, and I would sing the songs even though I didn’t know how to sing the Spanish words. It was very funny because my dad would always correct me, and say, ‘No, it’s said this way.’ I’ve always loved her music. I like how she sings and the mood it brings to me. After that, I started to like music more.”

Whether Milo is listening to Puerto Rican artists with his dad or listening to K-pop with his friends, Milo has always found one thing that stays consistent throughout all of it: the way that music makes him feel.

However they may be feeling, music allows them to convey that emotion to themselves and to those around them; their music reflects their emotions.

“If I’m feeling sad or angry, I listen more to rap music or music with a hard bass,” Milo said. “If I’m happy, I listen to more upbeat songs: songs with more high notes because I like to sing [those]. Usually, if I’m listening to a song, I [emphasize] certain words to put it out to certain people. If I’m mad at somebody, I’ll say certain words out loud to make sure you know this is directed [at] you, or if it’s happy, it’s the same thing.”

The music that they listen to isn’t restricted to simply one genre—or even to one language. Instead of confining themselves to only one type of music, they choose to listen to whatever they find comfort in, from reggaeton to K-pop, their favorite.

“[I choose to listen to various languages because] ​​they all have different styles,” Milo said. “[Each one] sticks out to me. It doesn’t really matter what language it’s from or the country it’s from—as long as I like it, then it’s fine.”

Although Milo chooses to listen to a plethora of music from different countries, there is one type of music that holds a spot near and dear to their heart: music from Puerto Rico.

Even just being able to listen to the music from his culture has allowed him to feel like he is a step closer to his heritage and his family.

“[I feel] a little bit [closer to my culture because], in Puerto Rico, music is a large [part of the culture], and my family is from Puerto Rico,” Milo said. “The music [in Puerto Rico] is reggaeton because that’s where it comes from, so I grew up with that type of music; it’s always made me feel closer to my family.”

Every place that Milo travels to, music seems to follow closely behind—even at school.

Ever since Milo can remember, he has always taken choir; however, it has done more for him than just teach him how to reach certain notes. On top of that, it has exposed him to numerous genres of music he would never have listened to otherwise.

“[Choir] gives me music I wouldn’t normally listen to,” Milo said. “Sometimes, we watch old films or classical music that none of us would have heard of, but we do tend to like it. It’s really cool because there’s someone called Eric Whitacre, and he makes these classical symphonies; I really like them. I never would have listened to symphonies, but his are really, really good.”

Music has become an outlet for Milo: it allows them to express themselves in a way that other forms of art cannot emulate. 

“[Music is] something I’ve always had, and it’s something that makes me feel safe,” Milo said. “I’m a very creative person, and something about music and the sounds in the music just satisfy my brain in some type of way. It always makes me feel happy.”