This is one of the many assignments I have done this semester in my English 224: Grammar and English Writing with our Professor Dr. Ana Montero. She is wicked awesome and truly knows her grammar and English history. What can I say… she has a PhD in LINGUISTICS. I hope you like it. Its supposed to be an Classification Essay and I wrote about people memories and places I have been at. Feedback is wonderful as usual.
How can a song from a certain decade make you remember an experience or feeling from your past? Why do these songs, through their lyrics or harmonies, stay on society’s mind and are guarded with such care? Maybe it’s because they have influenced your decision-making or train of thought on a particular subject. The songs we listened in class made me reflect on places I have visited, the people I have met, and some of the best memories of my life.
When I heard “Let’s twist again” by Checker it reminded me of “Surfing USA” by the Beach boys, and for a moment, I re-lived the vacation I had with my family in Culebra, and all the music I heard on the beach. When we went to Flamenco beach, one of the songs we heard was “It’s my party” by L. Gore which everybody was chatting about the “good old days” and how the world’s situation was at that time. Looking back on this vacation, I remember the peace, tranquility, and fondness I had at night which reminds me of “Can’t take my eyes of you” by F. Valli & 4 Seasons which makes me want to go Culebra again.
After the audio excerpts, I automatically thought of three people in my life who are part of the university choir: Sheila Cruz, Aledra Rodriguez, and Yaletza Peralta. You may ask yourself “why”? The answer is because they are fans of the following songs “Bad Girls” by D. Summer, “Mama Mia” by ABBA, and “The way you look tonight” by T. Bennet. Since they know these lyrics by heart at any given moment on any given day, they will (by a force of unknown magic) harmonize these songs in such a creative way that after five minutes you’ve experienced these songs with a whole new arrangement.
“Killing me softly” completely re-awoke some of the best memories in my life. When I started to study music seven years ago; in my first semester my choir teacher gave me a solo, and I felt just like R. Flack.On the day I had to sing, I thought it was going to be awful, but it went surprisingly went very well. All of those feelings of wanting to die with what felt like a lead ball in my stomach paid off because the song sounded well, and everybody liked it. Also “Un-break my heart” reminded me of the time in my senior year when I had to choose between singing and playing in my last concert in the Institute or going to my high school graduation; this was the hardest decision I had to make in my 20 years on this Earth. After careful consideration, I chose to go to my high school graduation because my Alma Mater is very important for me, for it is where I have spent 14 or more years. And I knew it would not be the last concert I would participate in my life. Furthermore, I won’t forget during that senior year when I directed the String Ensemble on the last activity of the semester. That experience made me realize what I wanted to do with my life: to conduct, direct and compose for Ensembles and choirs.
Places, people, and memories are some of the things you will carry in your life forever. Based on that premise is what an individual must have in mind every day. All of the experiences we will have in your life, for better or worse, will teach you a lesson in which you must try to practice each day. Whether it’s classical or popular music, music will consequently make you remember your past experiences and thus make you reflect in life itself.
The art of musical poetry 