Chords

In one day, my life went from a note to a chord. The flat pitch of previous years became sharp. The blurry, muddy tone gained much needed clarity. I am of course talking about the day I picked up a guitar, and started teaching myself chords. The power of the electric guitar has helped my life greatly. However, I owe a lot to music because of one part of me that previously almost did not exist: My self-esteem.

Throughout my life, my self esteem, or lack thereof, has made life somewhat difficult, even though I have always lived an extremely privileged life. This nagging presence, so to speak, has prohibited me from doing things I want, and taking risks that could prove to be worth it in the long run. These risks were small things, and concepts one learns in grade school and sometimes earlier, such as making friends, how to act around others, you know, basic social skills. The easiest tasks became somewhat of a production. My shyness and depression, my low self esteem and low self confidence, my lack of respect and lack of friends, played an enormous role in my lack of a gregarious experience in elementary school. However, I did not lose hope that it was possible to change.

Skip ahead from the verse, also known to me as fourth grade circa 2001, when my self esteem pretty much hit rock bottom, to the summer of 2005, which I like to call the chorus. During those two to three months, a significant power came into my life. This power was impossible to ignore, and I was more than happy to give in. That power was music. After listening to some of my father’s CD’s, music really started to stand out to me. It was this addictive force that grabbed hold of my brain, and has yet to let go.

Skip ahead a few bars again to the present, late October 2009. Music is without a doubt, the biggest part of my life. I have been playing guitar for four to five years, and perform for anyone any chance I get. Listening to music is still a big part of my daily routine. Even as I type these words, I have music playing in the background. Music has provided me with power- power over my creativity, power over my mood, power over my confidence. Music and the power of sound affect me so much, that I am going to study the technology of how it is captured in a recording.

All in all, my love for music has helped me so much with my creativity, the way I see the world, and as previously mentioned, my self esteem. Before I discovered music, I was extremely shy and not very outgoing. However, underneath my depression, there were several creative juices just waiting for their chance to come out and show the world the real me. I truthfully owe it all to that extraordinary summer of 2005; it made me who I am today.