Writing Assignment #1
05/29/2020
A Reliable Pastime
How music has kept me going
This sucks. It really does. When I wrote my narrative story last week, I mentioned that I hate this whole self quarantine thing. And here I am today, telling you that I still hate it, and will hate it next week, and probably the week after. Lately, I’ve been losing my sanity, as well as hope. As the weeks go on, I am starting to think that this isn’t going to clear up for a long time. I am starting to think that I won’t get to see my friends any time soon. I am starting that I won’t be able to go to my dream high school until the winter of next year. I am starting to think about when this really will go away, so I can live the life I used to. But for the time being, I have to find things to keep my mind interested, and that’s exactly what I’ve done. I soothe the roller coaster of thoughts inside my head with a thing that has never failed me before: music. I use music for many things: showering, homework, running, and working out. It is a humongous part of my life, now more than ever.
Though school has been cancelled for the remainder of the school year, the music department has refused to be halted. There are still concerts, and there are still music lessons. I have my trumpet lesson every Friday at 1:00 with my teacher, Mr. Given. Lessons with Mr. Given are one of the several things that make this quarantine manageable. Forty-five minutes go by in an instant as I get lost in the challenging pieces that Mr. Given has assigned me. I really look forward to Friday afternoons with Mr. Given.
I also have piano lessons every Thursday at 4:00 with my teacher, Roy Imperio. I have a much more established relationship with Roy. These lessons, while they are often interrupted due to frequent technical difficulties, are just... fun. It is so fun to play the notes and then mess up and then get feedback and the do it again and this time, get it right. It feels great, and that’s why I love playing music.
If you ever enter our house, the first thing you will hear is music going through one ear and out the other. My dad has a stereo system that he blares music through, but recently he has upgraded to an Amazon Alexa. Now, all it takes to get Born In The USA is a couple of words. As I write this in my room, I can hear the muffled sound of a Simon and Garfunkel song. It is kind of making it hard to wrap this up, but it is worth it. They are such a good band.
In times like these, I look to music for comfort and for pleasure. I look to it for reassurance that everything will be okay. I look to it for hope.
I love this. As much as you hate the quarantine and as much as I hate Quarantine, you bring a beauty and you embrace the possibilities of the day, especially through the gift of music.
Posted by: Fitz... | 04/29/2020 at 08:27 PM