Hello, My name is Larissa González, and I am a DJ for the radio station KANM, at TAMU. This year, I transferred to Texas A&M University for the Spring Semester. At the beginning of the year, I decided I wanted to get out of my comfort zone by really looking into the organizations TAMU has to offer its students. I had already heard of the student radio before applying to TAMU, but when KANM Radio sent out a mass email to the entire University, I knew it was time for me to sign up for the radio. My show, Bimbo Radio, is every Friday at 7 p.m. on kanm.org.
I never really imagined myself being a part of clubs or organizations before. Coming to TAMU really opened my eyes because I was around so many different kinds of people with different interests, majors, and personalities. I find it very interesting when you first discover someone’s music taste, or lack of, lol. I hadn’t realized until now that there are so many people who don’t listen to music at all which is very strange. I also find it strange when people only listen to stuff that is only on the radio because there are so many more songs to discover.
Backtracking to KANM, when I signed up as a DJ, I honestly didn’t expect to get a slot initially. I was okay with being a general member of the org, but they actually gave me the slot! Seven p.m. every Friday. Anyway, I just wanted to try something new, and since DJing requires talking a bit to the listeners, I found it a bit scary at first. Initially, it was kind of unusual hearing my own voice through a set of headphones – we wear headphones in the studio to hear what the listeners hear, and it was weird – but, eventually, I got used to it. I got used to talking about whatever I wanted like how unserious Pretty Little Liars is, or my crush on Timothée Chalamet, and even story times where I talk about embarrassing things that have happened to me!
Although I may mess up sometimes during a show, I enjoy making a playlist every week. I love curating something so personal to me. It’s so nice to be able to share something with people especially when I wish I could be more outspoken. Every week I try to play different music by playing different genres of music from different decades too. I like that I can have one playlist dedicated to Black History Month, one for rock or punk lovers, and another for people that enjoy Spanish music.
For me, this isn’t just a hobby or something that I do to fill in an hour gap every week. I am very interested in sharing things that are so significant to me with other people, and I feel right now that music is the most intimate form of myself that I have to offer other than my words. I’ve grown to appreciate music throughout my whole life, especially in these last few years, where it can get hard to navigate what you feel and how to say it. I think that when my own thoughts get jaded, or when I begin to feel unsure about where I’m at in my life so far, other people’s words, tunes, and melodies will always show me guidance into something much clearer. There’s no other way to describe music other than being salvageable because it does save lives.
When I listen to music, I feel most present. I’m here, living in the moment, and transcribing every word that an artist has to offer me through my lungs as if it were oxygen, a lifeline. Yeah, sometimes songs can be about nothing, or be about random things, but no song really means nothing to me. It could be the silliest song or the worst song, and I think I’d be able to appreciate the artisanship that came from every second it took someone to feel good about what they made.
One thing I wish would happen for KANM is that we’d get more listeners. It’s a pretty small and unknown radio station especially because it’s online. Although I’m not really friends with anyone at the station, I can say that it’s filled with so many creative and interesting people. We all share a common love for music and art and the ability to be open and expressive about the things we enjoy. I just hope that we get the chance to share that with more and more people as time passes by.
So, to conclude, my experience as a DJ for KANM has made me feel very seen as an individual, and it’s made me learn that even though I’m not as outspoken as I want to be, there’s still a small number of people who are willing to hear what I have to say, who want to hear what I have to share, and who enjoy being a small part in influencing what I may become. So, I’m happy that I took this chance (even if I’m not perfect at it), and I am thankful to have an outlet like this with people who really see me.