Guess What?

The coolest thing happened to me last night- I was walking around Hughes trying to find a practice room around 9pm when I stumbled upon this man, sitting with the lights off and playing piano.

Let me tell you, walking in on someone else practicing is one of the most awkward experiences that can occur. It's like you're committing a complete invasion of privacy, as if you're walking in on someone whacking off instead of someone playing an instrument. The encounters are always the same- you wildly throwing open the door, the immediate cut-off of music, the awkward eye contact as you apologize and back quickly out of the room. Tell me that doesn't sound like a mom who has just walked in on her teenage son during his "special time".

Regardless, this encounter was VERY different. He invited me in, saying that he was finishing up and I could have the room. I tried to tell him I could mozy down to 312 but he said, "I insist." so I stayed. It ended with an hour long discussion about music, perspectives on life, and a whole lot of piano playing. His name is Dan and he was majoring in engineering until he discovered that engineering doesn't really add to the human experience. He was therefore switching his major to jazz piano. I listened to him play Thelonius Monk, Disney tunes, Bach inventions, the Beatles, and I even just listened to him sitting there and grooving. We discussed the fission between the classical and jazz realms and how both sides could benefit from attempting to learn what the other did. But I think the topic we discussed most frequently was the fact that music is human. And while it is necessary for all true musicians to sit and practice, if you have no knowledge of the human condition you have no real place in music. You can learn from your own experience or from others, but you must be able to feel joy and heartache in order to become a complete performer. Because in the end you must perform not necessarily for the approval of your audience, but you have to have some kind of message you want to convey. General people enjoy what they can identify with. Humaness, emotion, all of it. You must be in touch with what people are entertained by as well. You are in the business of selling yourself to people. Dan is also a juggler and street performer so he knows what people want to see.

It ended in a metaphysical discussion about how we are tiny and basically insignificant, there are mysteries we will never know the answer to, and in the end we will die. Some might find this depressing but I think it's kind of liberating. The worst mistake you can make won't actually make the slightest bit of difference in the big scheme of things. That's not to say that everything is futile, but stop worrying about everything people! Be happy, be kind, love deeply, and live life to the fullest because in the end you are only cheating yourself out of a possibly fantastic lifetime.

Alright. I am stepping off the soapbox. The point is- talk to people. They're kind of awesome. And you never know what you might find.

MKH

I have been sleeping with the same Simba stuffed animal since I was 5. I still do- especially when I feel lonely which has been a lot recently. No pity party because that's what I am grateful for, my Simba! Maybe I should show some more shame...