Prompt: Beyond your impressive academic credentials and extra curricular accomplishments, what else makes you unique and colorful? We know nobody fits neatly into 500 words or less, but you can provide us with some suggestion of the type of person you are
From a young age, I found a feeling of comfort in music. Like most kids in my generation, I remember the euphoria that came along with the day I got my first iPod. The opportunity to have all this music in the palm of your hand was mind blowing. But, unlike most kids, the day that surpassed that for me was the day I heard vinyl grace a record player for the first time. The sound seemed to possess my body and my mind, a power I didn't know an object could possess. Record players are almost extinct in today's society, because of the alarming amount of music technology that is appearing day after day. But there is a sentimentality that comes from a record player that could never be replaced with any kind of new technology.
I have been collecting records since I was eight, and my dad salvaged his old record player and started playing some old Elton John records in the winter. Since then, I felt defined by my music taste. I felt separate from my peers but in a comforting way. I had my own sort of solace that no one else really knew existed and that was a beautiful thing. Over the years, any extra money I've had has gone to buying a new record, a new form of solace that can occupy airspace and provide a break from reality when needed.
Becoming attached to my records has also opened to my eyes to different cultures and different time periods that have come before my own. Records used to be the only way of distributing music, which sparked a large amount of people from different backgrounds using the record as a medium of music distribution. It allowed me to feel connected to the world around me. My favorite example of this, and possibly one of my favorite records I own, is Cold Fact by Sixto Rodriguez. Rodriguez was an Detroit folk singer but ultimately put his dream of being a singer down after his album, Cold Fact, wasn't very successful in the U.S. However, unbeknownst to his knowledge, his album spread to South Africa during the Apartheid movement and became a staple in the household of the South African people during that time. The words in his songs ignited their desire for social change and inspired millions.
My records have become a reflection of myself. They provide connection with myself and connection with the people around me. The same words that are sang in every single one of my records are a reflection of me as a person, and with each record, I continue to grow. This connection I feel because of these records is also one of my reasons for wanting to become a History major, and eventually become a History professor. I want to be able to connect with people, and discover things that the past knows about the present and even the future. There is so much to discover and history as well as my records gives me the opportunity to do that.
From a young age, I found a feeling of comfort in music. Like most kids in my generation, I remember the euphoria that came along with the day I got my first iPod. The opportunity to have all this music in the palm of your hand was mind blowing. But, unlike most kids, the day that surpassed that for me was the day I heard vinyl grace a record player for the first time. The sound seemed to possess my body and my mind, a power I didn't know an object could possess. Record players are almost extinct in today's society, because of the alarming amount of music technology that is appearing day after day. But there is a sentimentality that comes from a record player that could never be replaced with any kind of new technology.
I have been collecting records since I was eight, and my dad salvaged his old record player and started playing some old Elton John records in the winter. Since then, I felt defined by my music taste. I felt separate from my peers but in a comforting way. I had my own sort of solace that no one else really knew existed and that was a beautiful thing. Over the years, any extra money I've had has gone to buying a new record, a new form of solace that can occupy airspace and provide a break from reality when needed.
Becoming attached to my records has also opened to my eyes to different cultures and different time periods that have come before my own. Records used to be the only way of distributing music, which sparked a large amount of people from different backgrounds using the record as a medium of music distribution. It allowed me to feel connected to the world around me. My favorite example of this, and possibly one of my favorite records I own, is Cold Fact by Sixto Rodriguez. Rodriguez was an Detroit folk singer but ultimately put his dream of being a singer down after his album, Cold Fact, wasn't very successful in the U.S. However, unbeknownst to his knowledge, his album spread to South Africa during the Apartheid movement and became a staple in the household of the South African people during that time. The words in his songs ignited their desire for social change and inspired millions.
My records have become a reflection of myself. They provide connection with myself and connection with the people around me. The same words that are sang in every single one of my records are a reflection of me as a person, and with each record, I continue to grow. This connection I feel because of these records is also one of my reasons for wanting to become a History major, and eventually become a History professor. I want to be able to connect with people, and discover things that the past knows about the present and even the future. There is so much to discover and history as well as my records gives me the opportunity to do that.
