I just finished Jonathan Safran-Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and I got to thinking about how neat and terrific the writing is, and how I like to write, and how I wish that I wrote more, and how I wish I had something interesting to write about...and then I remembered about this blog.
It's daunting to write after such a blog-hiatus, because I'm sure a ton of junk has happened-now I have to decide which pieces of the junk are worth writing about.
I've been getting really into "American Pickers" lately.
It's summer now. (I apologize if you're a public school teacher or student. It's not summer for you. Just for me. And many of my friends. And teachers.) I got home last night, and will move into my new apartment in Burlington on June 1st. I will begin my last year of being a college student and not having responsibilities and not being in debt this September. I will be a real person in less than a year.
But, that's in the future. Now is the time for reflection.
What I have learned since March.
MUSIC
I ate the strangest musical gumbo of my musical life in these past few months.
1. Mis amigos Lindsey and Scott joined me in auditioning for the concerto competition hosted by the
UVM Symphony Orchestra, singing a trio from Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte.
It was something that excited me-because the winner was given the incredible opportunity to perform with the orchestra, but also because my "primary instrument" is flute, and I wanted to either make a statement, or test myself, or prove something to someone... I don't know, it was maybe a little angsty.
ANYWAY- we won! So I dug out an old prom dress, strapped high heels onto feet that are attached to an already very tall body, and strolled out onto the stage in front of the orchestra and sang the crap out of that song. Mezzo Soprano-for those who are interested. OH YEAH-we got plaques.
Here's a video.
2. I played trombone in the UVM Jazz Ensemble, less formally known as the Big Band. I'm awful at trombone, and remained fairly awful, but lord how I tried. I hardly practiced, got great at moving my slide around without actually playing, and was exposed to a new breed of human being. I won't go into it in this public venue, but jazz-cat I am not. OH YEAH- we went on a "tour" and now I'm famous.
3. I taught high school chorus as my final practicum course. It was a blast, and found my mentor teacher for student teaching, glory, glory, hallelujah.
I learned about pressure, I learned about leading and following. I learned about how you need contrasts and you need information from so many drastically different art forms, genres, and styles to create your own music.
HEARTS
At the end of March my dad had a triple bypass. That's when you are horizontal and a team of highly qualified individuals saws a line down your sternum, pulls your ribs apart, takes some veins from your legs to create new paths to bring blood to and from your heart. No. Big. Deal.
I learned about being scared, I learned about being thankful, I learned about being strong, nervous, and angry. I learned about being happy. I learned about seeing your dad unconscious on a hospital bed, and I learned about having no words say to the man who is supposed to be the protector, the strength, the beating heart of your life-when he is lying like that on a bed. He is doing so well now, everyday is hard-but everyday is a day of life. I learned about the strength of both my mom and dad.
That being said, I learned some things about life, and the way you live it, and the people you touch around you while you do so. One of my best friend's father passed away. I learned about wanting to hug someone for a thousand years and wanting to give them everything that they've ever wanted, but not being able to. But at the memorial for this beautiful man, I learned about love and the celebration of life, versus the mourning of death. That is a day that will stay with me forever.
DISCO BALLS
Yesterday some of my best friends and I spent hours together locked in 20 Fletcher Place, where we lived for the last year. During those hours we steam rolled through a whole mess of emotions. The righteousness we felt when we were fighting our landlady, the defeatedness we felt when she was winning, the unjustness we felt as we did work on that house that was far beyond our responsibility, and the absolute joyreliefecstacybliss when we walked through the house with her for the final time and she told us she'd give us our entire security deposit back. I think most breathtakingly was the unmeasured love we felt for each other in the moments after she closed the door that we jumpedscreamedhuggedflewdancedransangcried and laughed.
Living in that house was a constant challenge, but also a source of some of the best memories of my life. My disco ball dropped dead twice because of how often we dance around it. I, and it, will never be the same. I learned about love and family.
And now, it's summer. And I couldn't be happier.
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