I have posed this question to myself. “Have I changed since high school?” The answer is yes. During those years I was fairly quiet. I looked to others for leadership. I was more of a follower rather than a leader. I wasn’t very assertive. To get by in this world you almost have to have to assertive, otherwise people will walk all over you. Right now, I’m still not as much of a leader, but I feel I am more assertive toward getting things done.
Speaking of high school, last night the local tv station spotlighted my old high school’s band. I can tell you that things have not changed very much since I was there. They’re still having endless practices in the hot summer heat. They’re still getting cold in the band room when the air conditioning is at full force. In some ways I’m glad I was in band during high school. It got me out of the house and exercising. The problem was that band pretty much ruled my life at that time. And it ruled my parents’ life too. They were upset at me when I dropped out of band during my senior year. I blamed it on them wanting to socialize with the rest of the band parents. They loved to go to band contest (seemlingly more than I did).
Our band director was sorta authoritarian in approach. Nobody really liked him. His philosophy was giving band 110% or nothing at all. We did win contests and do fairly well with our band shows. But was it all worth it? Can we really feel good about ourselves in these seemlingly minor accomplishments in the grand scheme of things?
During college I discovered a song which reminded me of those endless days in band practice…..”Fall Down” by Toad the Wet Sprocket. The chorus of the song pretty much sums up those practices….”When will we fall down….” Everytime I heard that song I think of it. Not to mention the song is probably about breaking up with a girl. But each song is upto the listener’s intrepretations….
I’ve just discovered the new Bruce Springsteen song, “The Rising.” It’s a cool song. Heard it playing on the radio tonight. Classic Bruce. On a similar note, I have probably is one of the most unique Springsteen albums available. While I was in China, I picked up a Chinese version of Springsteen’s “Nebraska” album. The words and lyrics are in English, but the CD wrapping is subtitled in Chinese. I had wanted to get this album anyways, and when I was in China, I felt it was a good time to get it. Probably a bootleg anyways…..