Recently, in school, in my Honors class, we were asked to write an essay on the general topic “This I Believe”. Actually, “This I Believe” is a program which used to play on the public channel NPR. Basically, it was a 350-500 word assignment, wherein we had to write about what we, as a person, believed in. It was meant to be strictly personal, and was not a medium of sermonizing. We were asked to use “I” instead of “We” or “Them”. Here is the actual prompt: http://thisibelieve.org/guidelines/ Also, I recorded myself reading out my essay, which link is also included before the essay itself. My advice is, open the audio file in a different tab, and as you’re listening, read the essay.
Well, my essay turned out pretty good. I thought it would be nice as my next blog post, because now that I look at it, my blog is pretty skimpy: one poem and two posts by a hyper kid - not exactly what you’d call “great”. Anyway, here goes:
One of my faults, my younger sister says, is my habit of humming every moment of the day. When she’s doing her homework, or watching TV, she just can’t bear it when I hum a random tune that she’s never heard before. And sometimes, I understand her pain. But, no matter how hard I try, I just can’t stop humming those tunes – it happens subconsciously. Sometimes, I start strumming on an imaginary guitar (when, in fact, I don’t know how to play guitar). I don’t consider this as a problem: I believe it’s a blessing. I find myself doing things better with music around me. The redoubtable George Bernard Shaw says, “Hell is full of musical amateurs.” Music is such an intrinsic part of me that it keeps me company in almost everything I do. You must have guessed what the topic of my essay is: I believe in the power of music. I believe that music is a gift that I must cherish and treat as a source of energy.
My parents have both been musicians – my father started playing the violin when he was 12, and my mother began learning Indian classical music at 11. So, I have been exposed to all types of music. My parents tell me that I usually went to bed with piano tunes of Elton John’s songs playing in the background. Music helped shape my personality and how I think. Music has always seemed the best way of expressing my emotions. The true meaning of a song goes beyond the straightforward façade of its lyrics.
Sometimes – when I’m feeling low or when I am in a reminiscent mood – I watch videos of my early childhood. In one video my mother asks me to sing a song. Leaping up enthusiastically, I sing like a typical five-year-old would. Once it’s done, I immediately start another song, oblivious to the audience’s discomfort. They bear with me until I finish the second song, and just when my mom says – “Okay, good job! Sit down.” – I go on to start one more! You can see my cousin sister laughing openly, and a few others smiling away – the whole situation is just hilarious. But it’s a sweet memory nevertheless. It shows how music has influenced me right from my early childhood.
Of course, I am not the only one who loves and cherishes music. It has a place in everyone’s heart. Music is one of the most beautiful aspects of human life. The rhythm, the tune, and the innumerable musical instruments – all of these symbolize the human passion for music. No wonder most religious hymns are in musical form.
I’m lucky to be able to understand (to a small extent) and sing (to a smaller extent) a variety of music. Just listening to a song can lift my mood – it shows me what life is really all about. As the famous author, Aldous Huxley, states: “After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.”