A distraught 15 year old Scott Victorine sat in his room, strumming his beloved guitar. His grandfather, who bought him the Fender Stratocaster, who introduced him to Eric Clapton, who inspired him to use music as an emotional outlet, had passed away.

Even as a teenager, the social studies teacher knew he wanted a career in music but his parents insisted on a “9 to 5 type job.” His family had already experienced the financial instability when a cousin had pursued an unsuccessful musical career. But even though he knew that he would not be a professional musician as an adult, he always considered music, ranging from David Boey to Tupac, to be an irreplaceable part of his life.

Victorine describes how, without belting out tunes for even a mere five minutes, the day can feel strange and incomplete.

“If you look on my iPod and the music on there, there’s probably about 6,000 songs,” Victorine said.

He strongly believes that exposure to all genres of music is important. To him, one can experience that through online radio stations like Spotify where the skipping option has a limit. According to Victorine, it is easy to skip songs based on the premise that you do not know them; it is more special and difficult to listen to an unknown song and then decide whether you like it or not.

“If you saw my iPad, you’d think four or five people own it,” Victorine said.

Even though he prefers rock and hip hop, the range of different genres and artists he listens to is so broad that it not only encompasses currently trending songs as listed by the Billboards but also classics by artists like Elvis Presley and quirky music by Dead Sara or other alternative musicians.

Victorine says that music transcends almost all possible labels; anyone can like any genre, any beat, any tune. A hardcore punk musician can enjoy the soft, melodic tunes of classical music. A socially anxious student can perform Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” in front an entire class. An economics teacher can be into the Beatles and Coldplay at the same time.

Having played in a band during his freshman and sophomore years at high school, Victorine has experience performing and composing music. He explains that in the case of music collections, it is much harder to dislike an entire album as opposed to one or two songs. He himself purchases full albums to experience the complete set of emotions and lyrics that come with it, in a more cohesive manner than possible with a single.

“I think it’s easier to write one song now, and get noticed that way, than to sit down and write a full-length, quality album,” Victorine said. “It used to be, for a lot of artists, that you had to get out there, and to get noticed you would have to go to different shows, different venues.”

He believes that because of platforms like Spotify and Pandora, artists can compose one song and experience fame in a much more instantaneous fashion than developing a reputation throughout the years as a musician.

Although he does not consider himself a musician, Victorine plays in a band with a few other friends and despite not having a lead singer, the group meets on weekends to play together.

As a shy kid throughout his childhood, Victorine learned to use the Fender Stratocaster as a way to channel his thoughts and feelings. Even though he is no longer the reclusive teenager he used to be, the significant role that the guitar played in helping to express himself remains unchanged.

“There are times where I feel like I can say what I want to say but there are other times where I just need to pick up the guitar […] that’s what [music] means to me,” Victorine said.

Music often reminds people of their past experiences and for social studies teacher Scott Victorine, different genres bring back memories of his grandfather and his childhood. Here are some of his favorite albums and songs.