Bonjour, mon amie...s! Recently I was told to write an essay showing a life experience that shaped me into who I am, so I did. There were a lot of other rules too, but I'm not going to get into that. It might lessen the quality of my writing for you if you knew how hard I worked on it...
And, without further ado, MY ESSAY:
When asked what I was good at, I really did not have a clue what to say. In our modern and free-spoken society, where people are chastised for acknowledging their own talents and constantly accused of being self-absorbed, it really goes against the grain. We’re all so afraid of being labeled as egotistical that we pretend not to have any skills at all for a great portion of our lives. But now I have a grip on the reality of the situation: it’s acceptable for me to recognize my own talents—admirable even. And now that I have a grasp on these abilities, I can use them to my advantage, and use them to shape myself into an exceptional (or at least permissible) human being.
One experience that has made it slightly easier for me to admit that I have any sort of talents would be my first real gig with the band I’m in, The Monks. It was in early September of 2009, and incidentally the same day I joined the band. Immediately after the first song we practiced they announced that I was to sing a brand new song that night. To pull this off, I would have to memorize all the lyrics, guitar parts, and location of the gig within the hour window I had before the show. It seemed pretty impossible; most especially since I’d never sang a full song in front of anyone since I was three. But I did it. It was horrifying initially, and more intimidating than anything else I had previously encountered, but instantly when we started play the song I just knew it. The guitar playing might have been a little haphazard, sure, but I was able to recount all the lyrics in a rhythmic, musical way, and I consider that to be a huge victory. That success inspired me to pursue music in a whole new manner, and I’ve gained a lot from it.
If you had the ability to look through any memory in my mind, you would find that all memories in which I am proud of myself coincide in one big way: they all involve me doing something artistic. I generally only use the right side of my brain, which is great in most circumstances, but not entirely practical. Regardless, utilizing next to everything artistic isn’t deleterious in the least. I can sketch decently, write, paint, sing, play guitar (and a little piano), and sculpt a little. I live solely to attempt making something out of nothing. Which means it’s only natural that I want to become a professional musician.
I’ve always liked the idea of being a musician. I pretty much came out of the womb with the desire to sing to people. There was a little dead-time between ages three and eight for my musical aspirations, due to my randomly acquired timidity. Alas, after those wasted years I rediscovered my love for the performing arts, and am currently embarking on the magical journey of recording my music. This magical journey corresponds swimmingly with my ideal job (to be a professional musician). Music in general is so irresistible to me. I love how you can derive so much emotion just by plucking a few strings on a guitar, or hitting a couple chords on a piano—it’s amazing. And I feel really lucky to instinctually comprehend music more than the average bear. Having the resources to hone my musical abilities hasn’t hurt either, come to think of it.
Despite my preliminary objection to recognize that I have any sort of skill, in writing this short essay I’ve made peace with the notion that I can be proud of myself but maintain some sort of humility throughout. This realization should ultimately make me a happier person, and make writing a résumé far less painful to accomplish. Overall, I am glad I was asked “what are you good at.” It’s given me the opportunity to answer the question for myself.
THE END...
I love you all so much.
So much it's creepy.
