Wow, Day 5 already!
I've really enjoyed all of the challenges thus far, even my wet photo walk! This was the toughest day yet. It is so big. Music has been such a huge part of my life both as a performer and a listener. I took little more than 10 years of voice training and really enjoyed my time in church choirs and bar karaoke! I never became an Opera singer or a rock star, but I am one of those mums your kids point at because I'm totally capable of rocking out at a traffic light.
JOURNAL PROMPT
As you listen to the music of your past,
begin to think about what your hopes and expectations for life were
when you were young and the world was wide open. {If you are young and
the world is wide open, get crazy and write your wildest dreams right
now.}
Honestly, I was going to skip today. I am not a dwell-in-the-past type. I've taken those lessons, the painful and the rewarding, and moved on. I apply the lessons but don't often feel the need to re-live the experience which was the source of the lesson. Does that make sense? My childhood was less than ideal. I know I'm not alone, but why make you live my crappy past?
I mulled all morning. Ran some errands, picked up Cole from his science exam, read some blogs, caught up (ha!) on laundry and I realized there had to be some bright spots. I went over to the Billboard site to see what music was popular in the early '80s. (There, I've dated myself. I graduated high school in 1982.)
Looking through those lists, it came flooding back: the diversity of music we listened to while at boarding school was far less edgy than what I was listening to prior to attending (Pink Floyd, U2, Genesis, Neil Young) which may have contributed to my being in boarding school in the first place! (Note: rest assured, dear readers, some of us thrive in a safe and structured environment - it was a far better choice than to stay home.) The music at school was constant. It was positive, upbeat and happy. No real edge. It was accompanied by lots of headbands, neon colours and ripped t-shirts.
- Cat Stevens, Carly Simon and James Taylor songs sung in the "butt room". Didn't everyone smoke in 1981? It was a lot of fun trying to fit everyone in that 8'x8' room singing our hearts out.
- Kenny Rogers "The Gambler" played ad nauseum by my Mexican roommate, Pilar. My how she loved that tape ... to death!
- Air Supply through the halls played by the Trinidadian girls. If not Air Supply there was REO Speedwagon, Bob Marley and Calypso music. And, do you remember Stars on 45?
- The Asian girls played very high pitched zither type music with breathy pitchy vocals. Completely unfamiliar and a brutal attack on my ears.
- There was also plenty of Pat Benatar, Blondie, Olivia Newton John, Kim Carnes, Sheena Easton, Laura Brannigan being listened to and plenty of off-key singing along with the women power balladeers.
The hallways were always a cacophony of sound. And estrogen.
As for hopes and dreams? Beyond survival, the only thing I wanted to do was focus and get good marks and move on. I didn't have to think long and hard about the next step as I was told what University I was going to attend and I was told what courses I was going to take. I just wanted to get through it all. Thank goodness I could get lost in the music.
The only thing I could control was whether or not I sang on key!
The prompt today was "grow" which immediately brought to mind absolutely nothing! I was so wrapped up in my fear and want to avoid the journaling prompt that I was stumped. Then I remembered that my sweet boy, Caden, gave me "roses" for Mother's Day. They are actually beautiful pink impatiens and they sit on my windowsill at the kitchen sink. I see it every time I wash dishes, so that's a lot. They make me smile:
The fact that they have survived a month - and thrived - is in itself a miracle! Once I took that photo and headed outside to realize that the shrubs I had cut back - way back last fall had miraculously come back and are growing just fine. If you had asked me a month ago I'd have guessed we would have to replace them.
MESSAGE BOARD CONVERSATIONS
A bit slow today. One of the ladies asked for our Twitter accounts to put a list together. I added mine: @leecurrieHave you joined the Creativity Boot Camp? What do you think? Did you find the assignment today opened a can of worms or were you able to jump right in?
