1) What work of art, music, science, mathematics, or literature has surprised, unsettled, or challenged you, and in what way?
It all started in an automobile. The prospect of a 13-hour car ride ushered me to upload a vast collection of random music onto my IPod the previous night. While in the car, I set my IPod on shuffle and that is when I first heard the song.
UVA supplement - work of art that challenged, unsettled, surprised you? 2nd attempt
1) What work of art, music, science, mathematics, or literature has surprised, unsettled, or challenged you, and in what way?
It was a song that I stumbled upon unintentionally. While perusing through my cousin sister's handbag, I found an almost archaic MP3 player with four songs on it. Curious, I grabbed headphones from my room and listened to each song. The fist three were boring and tasteless but the third one really captivated me.
The piano's soft, melancholic tune initiated the piece; it was a melody that was new to my ears. Suddenly, a paradoxically somber yet hopeful voice added its influence to the instrumentation. The song's beautiful melody served as a backdrop to its powerful message. It was a song that called for peace, compassion, and unity among the people. The song was John Lennon's "Imagine."
I thought about the utopian society John Lennon described in "Imagine," a place where people are compassionate, a place where there is no concept of war, a place everybody lives as one and immediately I thought to myself, "That's Bhutan!"
A nation considered a part of the third world, Bhutan is a small kingdom nestled in between two world giants, India and China. My nation's governing principle is based on Gross National Happiness, a policy that measures development through happiness. From the pristine green Himalayan mountains, the smiling faces of people chanting their communal prayers, the free health and medical care offered by the government, to the traditional style of architecture all over the land, Bhutan is a developed nation in accordance to GNH. It is the embodiment of the place described in "Imagine."
There was no need for me to "Imagine" a utopian society since I was living in one. The song surprised me because the future John Lennon Imagined was my home, Bhutan. Its message to me resulted in a pleasant epiphany; even though Bhutan is insignificant to the world it is a place the world should strive to imitate. If John Lennon was still alive, I would send him an invitation letter entitled, "You don't have to imagine anymore."
Beautiful use of vocabulary to express your emotions. I really enjoyed reading this.
Knit-picking: iPods, by brand, have a miniscule "i" in front. You could replace some mentions of "the song" to "it", as the subject of the article is obvious especially as you read on. I personally switch between nouns and pronouns sporadically, but it's a personal preference.
In the penultimate "paragraph" I would say "But as I stared into the green mountains blurred by the movement of my vehicle I realized a thought that matched the song verbatim... that [quote]" It sounds crisper as its read aloud.
Other than that, great writing!
How cool is that??? your country I mean!!
Typo in last sentence in first paragraph - the FIRST three were boring and tasteless (state what they were?)
Epiphany of self-awareness, of gratitude, or appreciation - we need more of that these days!
