The Importance Of Music

By the time of my fourth birthday, I found myself utterly enraptured by my grandfather’s violin. Not merely for the finely tuned sound or the deep mahogany of the wood stain, but for the ability to create something that escaped the limitations of a singular definition - its existence too vast and superb to be constrained by the convent of mere words. My passion eventually lent itself to hours of diligent practice – days, weeks, months, and years passed by as my fingers molded themselves around the strings of my instrument. However, this meticulous persistence was not always fueled by delight. Some days my practice sessions were full of tears and arms that felt like they had cement blocks dragging them down. Despite this, I continued to lug …show more content…
When I began working as a server and bartender at Casino Rama, I found that naturally applied myself in the same fashion. I did not allow a lack of passion to dampen my overall drive. At any given moment of each day, I strove to and found great satisfaction in, being the best at what my job entailed. That is not to say that the job requirements were always easy to fulfill. I faced some of my most difficult challenges to my dedication every show night at the casino. At one time, we televised a live major sporting event. As a cohesive group we thought we were prepared for the onslaught of some of our most important patrons, the “big-spenders,” so to speak. It is not possible for me to properly express the craziness that ensued – in fact, most of the night continues to exist as a blur within my memories. After twelve hours of continuous walking, talking, shouting, managing angry patrons and arguing with frustrated coworkers, my resolve started to wear. Despite the exhaustion and feeling of defeat, I continued. By fourteen hours, to my relief, I was finally found a moment to sit down. Surprisingly, this event was not that far off from a normal occurrence. On show nights I grew to expect that opportunities for breaks could be nonexistent for more than eight hours. Moreover, there were some nights that I would still be at the restaurant close to four in the morning, despite having to be back to open the …show more content…
program at UOIT, I chose to move to a remote, slightly dilapidated, farmhouse - the farthest commute from school that I could manage. However, living in the country, it was soon obvious that my hydro bills were becoming astronomical in the winter months. This continued to the point that the financial strain of heating the house was becoming a true concern. As a result, my partner and I decided that it was necessary to seek out alternative fuel sources. We settled on installing a woodstove as a primary source of heat, with the goal of investing in solar panels, once it became a feasible option. Being the primary and solitary resident of the house for the majority of the winter months, the upkeep and maintenance required for the farm, and therefore the woodstove, became my responsibility. I viewed the challenge as an opportunity to see if I had the grit to endure a routine far outside of my comfort zone. I cannot even begin to count the times that I cursed my initial eagerness - wondering what I had gotten myself into was often a daily occurrence. The tasks involved in maintaining the house at a temperature above freezing consumed all of my extracurricular time and energy, often reducing me to a cold, tired, and red-eyed wreck. However, having made the commitment to maintain the farm, and not having the money to afford turning on the baseboards, I forced myself to