My over-imaginative brain has provided me with many inquiries that occupy thoughts and keep me awake. I’m always one to bug my friends and family with odd, hypothetical ‘would you rathers’ and ‘what ifs.’

For the most part, my answer is shared with the majority of the people I pose the question to. However, there is one that I find myself diametrically opposed from peers on. The question is as follows: would you rather be deaf or blind?

For me, the answer comes almost instantaneously. I’d take being blind a million times over being deaf. This usually is met with protests like, “Meredith, what about driving?” or “You know that means you can’t see your friends and family, Meredith?”

My answer does not equivocate; I can’t imagine where my life would be without sound.

If I didn’t have the ability to see, I would be forced to live a life with many hardships and hindrances.

If I didn’t have the ability to hear, I would be forced to live a life without joy.

Music is the most connecting factor humanity has. It has the power to break down all languages, distances, and cultures. Two entirely different humans who have never connected before can find a common ground through music. Music is the language of the soul, not the mind.

I’m constantly listening to music. It’s playing when I drive, when I’m getting ready in the morning, when I’m doing work. Every single article I’ve written on this website has been guided along the way by whatever song was pumping through my headphones at the time of writing it.

Without sound, not only would music be lost, but the ability to hear your voice and the voice of others would be gone as well. Your voice is the tool that you use to put out your own ideas, opinions, and beliefs into the world.

Me being able to speak my mind and tell others my thoughts is the single greatest power I have. My ability to inflect and enunciate gives me total control over the very words I speak and the message I give off. The exact same is true for others speaking their minds as well.

Humans having the ability to hear is what allows us to receive these messages and understand a person in their truest sense.

So while sight is the thing that builds up the world around us, sound is the thing that makes the world worth living in.