A lot of people who know me now (the current version of myself) are surprised to find that I'm a musical person. In fact, I cringe a little bit when I even say this because I can't believe how far removed I've become from music.
During my adolescence it was a major part of my life and always a priority. I alternated the days at school between band and choir, singing and playing the clarinet at least 4 hours each. I could even go back to the time when I played the piano, and include those hours of lessons too. On Saturdays we'd often have performances, parades, maybe go to a local performing arts show, watch a traveling broadway production, or I'd be creating my own songs on the piano. On Sundays, I'd spend the morning in a music filled church service and the evening at handbell practice and choir practice.
On top of all this, music was also very socially important in my life. During the days of Napster, I'd have all my friends turning me on to different artists, genres, and music trends. I also spent more time than I'd ever like to admit watching MTV and the latest music videos on TRL. A huge part of my life was invested into creating playlists, mix cd's, and then blaring the songs with my friends or by myself.
So as the years went by, my clarinet case started to collect dust. My singing dwindled down to the shower or in the car. I confused talent for passion, and began to see music as an all or
nothing gig. Since I wasn't going to be performing any solos anytime soon, I stopped performing altogether. I did however continue on with exploring other music, artists,
and songs and the invention of youtube really helped to fuel those discoveries :) Nonetheless, the hours I devoted each week to music went from hours and hours to hit or miss. I don't even listen to music on the radio any more (I'm a self proclaimed NPR junkie). If I want music in my life, I am the one who has to seek it out and make it a priority.
So while my progress towards completing this item is not profound, I consider it a good first step. I'm headed to Vegas in a couple of weeks for one of my best friend's bachelorette party. In order to get us all excited, my friend and I decided to send each girl a CD to get pumped up! I took time to devote to this project....looked up songs, previewed them on youtube, googled ideas, and finally came up with a great mix. The artists range from Sarah Bareillis to Elvis Presley, Dean Martin to ZZ Top, and Katy Perry to Everclear. There's a little something for everyone :) When all was said and done, I could easily say I had dedicated a significant amount of time to music and music alone. It is amazing what it can do for the soul.
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