Painful Encounter Number One
This particular memory is actually one of my few claims to fame back home, due to its unusual nature. In second grade, on the day before Thanksgiving, I had a plywood locker fall on me. We had gone to grab our lunchboxes from our lockers and my locker partner's lunchbox was stuck on the hook. Instead of reaching in and lifting the strap off, he pulled straight out hard and pulled the locker over. He jumped out of the way--I did not. I was trapped underneath the locker and struck on the side of my head by an inside shelf. This memory is remarkable to me partially because of what I DON'T remember. There is a distinct space of time, under that locker, for which I have no memory--I must have blacked out. I do remember the locker being pulled off and a circle of faces above me. I distinctly remember being scared because they wouldn't let me sit up, and I wanted my mommy. I was placed in a neck brace and whisked off to the hospital in my only ride (so far) in an ambulance. They dismissed me with a minor concussion/head trauma. This is a distinct memory I will never forget, despite the haziness resulting from my head injury.
Painful Encounter Number Two
Last May I had the distinct privilege of wrecking the MCL in my right knee. I had invited my boyfriend to walk with me to Dairy Queen (I live about a mile away). He showed up with his best friend, his longboard, and a rope. Apparently it was time for me to learn how to longboard. I was doing fairly well, being pulled by a rope, until I did the one thing I had been warned not to do--bail. Afraid I was going to hit a car (turning was still tricky) I jumped up and landed horribly on my knee. Pain, serious pain in my knee. My boyfriend and his friend thought I had simply scraped my knee and told me to get up. They quickly learned otherwise. The doctors didn't think I had actually torn my MCL so I spent the entire summer limping around in a knee brace and attending Physical Therapy sessions. My condition did not improve and I eventually had a scope surgery at the end August. Some extra material was removed and I could finally fully straighten my knee and return to normal activities. I will never forget the shooting pain in my knee or the frustration of being unable to to do any of my favorite summer activities. I can definitely argue that nothing sharpens and clears the mind like sharp pain, and nothing dulls the mind quite like painkillers.
Happy Memories
Perhaps my favorite memorable moment is the trip I took to Europe the summer of 2010. I auditioned into the Sound of America National Honor Band and Chorus. Musicians from the nation gathered together to learn some amazing music and travel to 6 countries in Europe: Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, France, and Luxembourg. I don't think I could forget the music we performed if I tried--those tunes are forever in my brain. But more importantly, I will never forget the friends I made or the sights we saw. I made a new family on that trip, and even though we are scattered across the U.S, we remain in touch and very close. I also got to see so many amazing things at such a young age. I have been on top of the Eiffel Tower at sunset, I heard our choir perform INSIDE Notre Dame Cathedral, I rode the worlds longest Gondola in the Swiss Alps, I have seen the house where they filmed the Sound of Music. I have explored the canals of Venice and been to the palace of Versailles.I have seen the Mona Lisa in the Louve. So many outstanding memories that I will never forget.
The most beautiful part of this trip was communicating with other cultures through the language of music. This class focuses on the history of oral tradition and written language, but to me the most powerful language on Earth is music. Music speaks to people of all cultures and all educations. There are no boundary lines. Every thought and emotion can be conveyed through music. My favorite quote to this day is: "When words fail, music speaks."
Here's a YouTube clip of my favorite song we performed: it earned us a standing ovation at every concert.
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