Social Anxiety Forums

Anonymous · Posted: Sun December 10, 2006 Post subject: A Paper From School

This kind of reminded me of a video game. Then again, it was modeled after a story that could be easily converted into a PS RPG. xD

If you don't understand a lot of musical terms, you might not get this paper, but we had a really tough teacher that year (this is from my Junior year in High School) and only two people got an A on this assignment. I was one, and she asked me to read it aloud to the class, upon which a few students stopped and said: Wow, there were a lot of things I didn't understand in that.

Then again, I didn't exactly get the brightest kids in my class that year. '^^

Anyway, it's a tie between music and writing, and how much both of them mean to me. The objective was to have... a paragraph of metaphorical text then a paragraph of explanation.

A gentle breeze was tickling the windchimes. I could hear the gentle giggle; a rhapsody of tiny chuckles. The barking dogs in the distance were laying down the gentle bass line, the metallic hum of appliances creating a harmony. Perched halfway up a set of stairs I sat with my notebook, the ideas flowing onto the paper like the creation of a symphony. I was beginning a wonderful measure of my life in full vivace, the start of a new story that remains unfinished today.

Music has been a big part of my life since middle school, when I picked up the clarinet for the first time. I seemed to "have the knack", perhaps because my grandmother was a music teacher and I come from a music-oriented background. I went through middle school and high school with high marks and reguards and I even won awards for "Top Band Student of the Year Award" in both 7th and 8th grade. I always sat at the top of the section and excelled greatly; there was always enough competition, whether it was one of my best middle school friends or an upperclassman, but I never could make it up to the head of the section, though I was always close. I also participated in and scored the highest ratings on high level solos in the OMEA (Ohio Music Education Association) Solo and Ensamble Contest. I continued with band right on through to this year, my final year, where at long last, I returned to the head of the section. I currently hold the first chair position, and I am still doing well.

The work of literature in progress continued to flow onto the pages like a glorious waterfall, foaming and rippling, all in 4/4 time. It went through the various stages; the moderato of a calm stage- a resolution to a problem. The andante; a rise to the climax. The larghetto of a death scene. The grave of the after effects. The allegretto of happier times. It all played out in an opera. The words swirled and danced across the page, the tempo picking up quite a bit as I scrawled the tempest furioulsy onto each page. There was a creschendo as the characters traveled from town to town, accompanied by the piu mosso of a festival that was tossed into the general plot. The dillema of the situation was... other players needed to be added to the field; solos never sound as sweet unless they have some sort of accompaniment.

I started writing my own story, but eventually I added other "players" to create my own orchestra, through role playing stories. (where you create and play your own characters in a multiple author story) I am currently (no, none are finished yet) involved in ten or more different role play stories and four of my own, in addition to a collection of short stories. Therefore every free minute I have is devoted to writing; it is literally my world outside of school and music. I have been truly captivated by writing since my early years of high school, and it is an activity I would like to continue long after high school, even if I cannot make a career out of it. For now, I continue to work on stories every day, since it is something I enjoy doing very much.

So I sit in an empty room, my notebook and a trusty pen or pencil as a conductor's rod, the rythmn sweeps back to its rightful place in my mind. I find peace knowing I am in the final stretch of the story, closing in on the resolution. You can tell by the ritard, firmata, a tempo pattern. The final firmata comes into play then, as the main character's past is revealed, then there is dead silence for one golden moment as the character contemplates what to do next. There is the accelerando to the last note- the tempo flares to ludicrous speed, bursting forward to the last note, the decisions are made, the problems solved, everything cleared, a happy ending- the final note. The players gasp for air after the last pitch, and the happy reader shuts the back cover.

The crowd goes wild, another perfect show with wonderful intonation, fantastic articulation, and supernatural dynamics; the encore tops it all off, and everyone in the orchestra takes a bow. I too hope to feel that rush someday; when I finish and hopefully publish a novel, whether independent or multiauthor. Through it all though, the friends I've made and the improvement in my writing skill have been reward enough for me, so if I don't make it big, I'll know I didn't get the short end of the stick.

So there you have it. That's the best I could do... and I procrastinated on this paper until a few days before it was due; it pushed me to work harder and the pressure made me think about what I was writing instead of making something basically meaningless. I think I've progressed in my talent a little since then, but this was one of my best school papers I've done.

Hobo · Posted: Mon December 11, 2006 Post subject:

Wow, there were a lot of things I didn't understand in that.