This I Believe

For homework, we had to listen to "This I Believe" essays on npr.org. I think the point of this is to learn about how other people's beliefs and how they choose to express them.
This I believe is an essay that listeners of NPR radio submit to the station. These essays are about what guides these people's lives. The three esays that interested me the most were by Joan Towers, Ying Ying Yu, and Joshua Yuchasz.

I was particularly interested in Joan Towers essay because it was about music. I have heard of Joan Towers compositions, but I haven't heard any of them yet. The title of her essay,"Music makes me come alive", rang true to me. In her essay, she talked about how Music is more than just music to her. For her, it's a way of escape, a way to do something significant. She also talked about how it is the deepest form of communication. I agree with her essay. When I started the piano at six, I remember feeling very happy about getting the chance to play an instrument. As I got older, I matured in my playing, and the rewards I could reap from playing the piano got better and better. I use music as a way to escape from my life. With music, you can shut out the world and be in your own. I also feel that music involves communication. To me, the point of music is to be able to enjoy it and share it with other people. In that sense, it is communication. When you play for someone, you are communicating all your emotions and skills. These emotions could run from love to anger. In other words, the possibilities are endless.

Ying Ying Yu's essay was particularly interesting. After reading Alex Y's suggestion to listen to this essay, I decided that I would. Ying Ying Yu imigrated to China when she was in grade school. Her essay talked about fufilling your duty and education. I think that she was trying to convey the message that she is bound to her duty, and that she will fufill it. While listening to her essay, I found out that I am very familiar with her type of thinking. I'm an ABC or American Born Chinese. Since my parents came from Taiwan, they were influenced by Chinese Culture. One extremely important aspect of Chinese culture is Education. Education is extremely important to the Chinese, especially to the students. When I was small, my parents also stressed education. They made sure that I would be able to have an excellent education. Ying Ying talked about fufilling her duty. That train of thought is very Chinese. In a way, I also believe in fufilling one's duty. I especially agreed with her thoughts on not giving up. There were many people who worked hard to provide me with the best education. If I gave it up, it would be very insulting to the people who helped me get to where I am. Her essay gave me an interesting viewpoint on education and how she feels about it.

The last essay was about how people should be appreciated for being different. I agree with Joshua's viewpoint. I myself am different in certain ways. One way I'm different is that I can't stand rap, country, or heavy metal music. I'm infatuated with classical music. Most teens these days can't stand to even think about classical music. They think, " Oh, it's that old fogey music again", or "YUCK!". When I was younger, I was ridiculed for liking classical music. Then again, everyone was immature, and nobody knew how to appreciate differences. It even got to a point where I almost had to act like I didn't like classical music just to fit in. Now that I am older, I see that differences are what make people different from each other. Like Joshua wisely said: "What is all people spoke the same?" Now, I am extremely appreciative of my differences, and I hope that I can express them more in the future!