The other day in class we were talking about The Healing Connection and someone mentioned how everyone needs an outlet and a lot of people mentioned horses and riding but mine’s a little different. On the surface mine doesn’t appear to be much: a bunch of black dots on a white page, a pair of beaten up white ear buds, but it’s enough to get me through the hardest days.
I started playing piano in first grade which is about the same time I got my very first CD (Spice Girls in case you were wondering) and I haven’t looked back since. I started playing violin in fourth grade and clarinet in fifth, which soon after switched to oboe.
I owe so much to music. It saved me in high school when my group of friends from middle school was moving in different directions. I looked towards band and orchestra and found a group of friends who finally understood that part of me and didn’t think I was weird for it. Then in college I moved 1500 miles away from home to somewhere completely strange and slightly terrifying. I was lost, confused, and rather homesick so I turned to the place I knew I could find solace: music. I would walk to my lesson or orchestra feeling like my world was falling down around me and walk out practically skipping with the biggest, goofiest grin on my face. With the realization that the best days were on those days I had a lesson or orchestra I started dragging myself to the practice rooms when I was feeling crummy and low and behold I’d leave feeling much better than when I had entered.
The best five weeks I can remember having in a long time were spent at music camp where I did nothing but play all day for a full five weeks. And that’s when I made the decision that I want to be a music performance major. The thought is terribly daunting but if it makes me so happy why not. My brother asked me why I wanted to be a music major the best answer I could come was, “It makes me feel alive.” Music will always be there for me when everything’s falling down. It doesn’t ask for much, just a little time out of my day to go practice, which makes it even better because I get out of it what I put in. I leave that practice room feeling so great because I was the one making that music and it feels like you can take on the world after doing that.
"You never quit on your music. No matter what happens. Cuz anytime something bad happens to you, that's the one place you can escape to and just let it go.” –August Rush
Music is my escape. And not just playing music. Just listening to music can be the greatest escape. There’s nothing like slipping on those headphones and finding the perfect song that sings back to you exactly how you’re feeling. It’s like having a friend saying, “I know exactly how you feel and I’m here with you even if everyone decides to walk out that door and leave you.” Some people have the horses, I have my music.
“You know what music is? God's little reminder that there's something else besides us in this universe, a harmonic connection between all living beings, everywhere, even the stars.” -August Rush
