Thursday, December 20, 2012

Soundtrack of My Life


I’m writing this for my college comp class, and I’m really trying my hardest to find the write songs that fit these situations. My goal in writing this paper is to sound like me and let my readers better understand my life and why I do the things I do. This is probably going to be a little too personal and a bit cheesy, but oh well. “This Is Me” by Demi Lovato explains how I feel now about my life. “This is real, this is me. I’m exactly who I’m supposed to be now. I’m gonna let the light shine on me.”


DC Trip
My summer after my freshman year I went on a trip to Washington DC, New York City, Rehoboth Beach, Gettysburg, PA, and Philadelphia. It was probably one of the longest trips of my life. There was constant movement, I didn’t sleep once on the bus, I got seasick on the ferry, and I went to like twelve memorials in a three day period. The one thing that I always remember when I think about this trip is going across the bridge to get to New York City, and the song that was playing in the background was “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. It was at the part in the song where they’re singing, “Now you’re in New York. These streets will make you feel brand new. Big lights will inspire you. Let’s hear it for New York, New York, New York.” Imagine it, you’re going across the bridge, and you look down into the water. The waves rolling while you’re getting closer and closer to the city. It’s kind of dark out so you can see the lights of the city. All of this is happening while the song is playing. It simply takes your breath away. This was an absolutely amazing moment; it was so surreal. It was like a scene taken straight out of a movie.


Cheerleading
If I had to recommend one thing to any younger girl, cheerleading would be it. Cheerleading changed my life and really let me grow into who I really am. I started cheering my sophomore year, and I really wished I would’ve started it earlier. The transition from being a big dog in eighth grade to being a mediocre child had a tremendous impact on me. I went from being loud and somewhat obnoxious to really quiet. I didn’t quite know who I was. But cheerleading changed all of that for me. I opened up and made new friends that I never would’ve made. Because of cheerleading, I learned who my biological father was and that I had two sisters. My passion for cheering is huge, and that song that represents it is “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO. Our homecoming routine my junior year was based on this song, so what better song to use than this one?


Tennessee Mission’s Trip
This past summer I went to Tennessee on a mission’s trip with a church group I had never met before that. You could probably imagine how nervous I was. Opening up to people has never really been a strong suit for me. And to add to it, I had to sit on a bus with all these people for eighteen hours. EIGHTEEN WHOLE HOURS. It was definitely worth it though. For the first couple of days we did mission work that blew my mind. We helped in a group home for people recouping from drug/alcohol addiction and being homeless the first day. The days following, we worked at food shelves, packing clothes for the homeless, and spreading the love of God. Needless to say, it was a life changing experience. There’s one night that sticks out when I think about this trip. It was the first night of worship, and the most amazing worship service I had ever seen. The pastor asked people to come forward, and I did what he asked. The band continued to play as I sat on my knees praying. I then felt a hand on my shoulder, and it was someone that I had never met before in my life. This lady prayed over me and said things that I had never told anyone. I was astonished, and I just broke down. I sat there and cried, not knowing what to do. After she stopped praying over me, I just sat there and continued to pray. As I sat there, I opened my heart up. I let go of all the bad emotions I had been feeling, and, believe it or not, I was instantly happier. The song playing in the background was “Your Love Never Fails” played by Chris Martin. Whenever I’m feeling iffy about anything, I listen to this song and remind myself that God would never put anything in my way if I couldn’t handle it. If I hadn’t gone on this trip, I honestly have no idea what I would be doing now. I thank God everyday for pushing me to go on this trip.


Babies
Believe me, I understand that I talk about the babies in my family a lot, but can you blame me? These children are the loves of my life. “With Arms Wide Open” by Creed is a perfect song to explain this. Although I’m not their mother, my love for these kids doesn’t change. Being that the Connecticut shooting just happened, I’ve realized how painful it would be if I ever lost one of them. Responsibility is a key trait I learned to have early since I knew I would be watching the kids a lot. I would do absolutely anything for any one of the kids. To specify on the song choice, the chorus is the main part that I want to focus on. “With arms wide open. Under the sunlight. Welcome to this place; I’ll show you everything.”

2 comments:

  1. I totally understand where you're coming from the post about your biological father. Although our circumstances have slight differences, I feel ya, Maddie (:

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  2. I can completely relate to the bond you feel with the babies in your family. The recent school shooting and your blog post helped me realize how important the kiddos in my family are to me.

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