My Musical Culture

       Hi, I'm Chanaya Carr, and I'm a first year student at Converse. I've played soccer for 15 years which is basically my whole life. My parents first put me in soccer when I was three years old, and I’ve liked it ever since.  I grew up in Columbia, SC with my mom and dad. In April of 2020, my dad died, and since then I’ve gotten closer with my mom, and I’ve traveled a lot more. I have 2 siblings (an older brother and an older sister). I also have 2 nieces and 1 nephew.

My favorite colors are blue and green because they remind me of nature. My favorite tv shows are Grey’s Anatomy, Criminal Minds, Hannah Montana, and Victorious. My favorite movies are Hercules, John Wick 1+2 (the third felt a little forced), Columbiana, The Princess and the Frog, and Chicken Little. My favorite foods include, but are not limited to french fries, wings (flats only), pizza (pepperoni), and pasta (alfredo + spaghetti). My hobbies include cooking, baking, and journaling. I currently don’t have any pets, but I’ve had a few fish and 1 dog growing up. That’s all about me!

circa 2006

1. An example of something that I like right now: the first time I heard this song was when I was in my best friend's car on the way to one of our mutual friend’s birthday dinners. I LOVE slower r&b songs, and she knows that, so she played it thinking I would like it. That night was one of the best memories I had with my friends before leaving for college. Recently, I was sitting in my room watching All American, and this song played during one of the scenes, and it made me smile. Although the song isn’t old, listening to it feels nostalgic. Tiana Major9, EARTHGANG - Collide (From "Queen & Slim: The Soundtrack")
2. For an example of music that's very important to me, I have two songs. The first song of importance isn’t actually a song I cared for in the beginning. Baby I’m Ready by Gerald Levert was one of my dad’s favorite songs. Most Friday nights or nights that my dad had off, we would stay up until 3am to listen to music. This was usually one of his requests that I dreaded. Of course I’d play it, but I would still have to complain a little. Now that he’s gone I haven’t been able to listen to it again, because it holds so many memories. It’s one of the many songs that we listened to that stuck with me. Baby I'm Ready
The 2nd song that’s important to me is Bring Em Out by T.I. According to my family, my first time hearing the song was when I was around the age of 2-3 years old. My first memory hearing the song was when I was 9 years old riding in the backseat of my dad’s car with all of the windows down. I believe it was summertime, I’m not exactly sure, but I do know it was hot that day. We were on the way to get chocolate chip ice cream from Baskin Robbins. We went to Frankie’s Fun Park, CiCi’s Pizza, and then we rode around listening to the radio for the rest of the day. That was one of the many days we spent time together like that, but the two of us screaming Bring Em Out was a very memorable moment.

T.I. - Bring Em Out (Official Video)

3. I don’t have a specific song I don’t connect to, but more of a genre. For some reason I can’t listen to punk rock music. I’ve tried listening to different types of rock music, but out of all of them, punk rock appeals to me the least. I’m a huge fan of hip hop, which can be equally chaotic, but punk rock is a whole nother level. It makes me extremely anxious. I respect the artists because it’s not easy, but I personally just can’t get into it.

4. For the “miscellaneous” songs, I have chosen Breathe from Season 7, Episode 18 of Grey’s Anatomy sung by Chyler Leigh. The other song is Chris Stapleton’s rendition of Tennessee Whiskey. I’m not sure whether those two songs were originally sung by them, but I enjoy both songs. Breathe reminds me of one of my favorite episodes of Grey’s Anatomy along with memories of one of my favorite characters. Tennessee Whiskey on the other hand is just nice and soothing to listen to. Every time I hear it, it makes me smile. It reminds me of someone very special to me.Breathe (2AM) Tennessee Whiskey