Uke'an Be Happy by Caroline

Uke'an Be Happy by Caroline - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

I don’t consider myself a musician, but in my sophomore year, music transformed my life. The instrument that commanded my attention was the ukulele. Unassuming, cheerful, and purely recreational, this simple four-stringed instrument gave me a means of expression that its more esteemed cousins, the violin or cello, could not. If my story was sung rather than told, it would feature these three songs, but only played on a ukulele.

Riptide, Vance Joy. The powerful current of a riptide catches even the strongest swimmers by surprise and pulls them into the sea. They can either give in to this force or swim hard against it. Every day of my sophomore year felt like I was fighting an undertow. Between school, sports, and friends, the struggle to stay on top of everything was exhausting. Driving home from a hard-fought lacrosse game, I heard Riptide on the radio, and the contrast between the singer’s dark fears and the upbeat melody caught my attention. Earlier when I’d played piano, learning an instrument always seemed like one more stress, but Riptide inspired me to see it differently. For my sixteenth birthday, I received a ukulele and lost myself for hours learning to play Riptide in my room. As I continued to fight the riptide in my life, the ukulele helped me stay afloat. After seeing how quickly a non-musician could master a song on the ukulele and experiencing the peace it brought into my life, I began searching for opportunities to share it with others.

Star Wars, John Williams. My junior year, I went to the Boys & Girls Club with a ukulele and an idea that the inexpensive instrument would be perfect for kids from low-income households without after-school music instruction. After getting approval and receiving donated ukuleles, I developed a curriculum. The sign-up sheet filled up within minutes, and I began teaching hour-long classes with fifteen kids ages 7-11. At first, it was chaotic as excited kids competed to out-strum one another but to control the class I learned how to incorporate games, distribute my attention, and make sure each student was heard. One shy, eight-year-old, Makaila, had been distracted in class until Star Wars Day, May the 4th, when I introduced the Star Wars melody. Makaila concentrated as I guided her struggling fingers through the notes. From then on, she came early, stayed late, and finished her homework early just to practice. At the end of the year dinner, the force was definitely with Makaila as she performed with the group in front of 250 people. Excited by the opportunity the ukulele had given my students to find their own voices, I wanted to expand my program.

I’m Yours, Jason Mraz. This summer, I took Social Entrepreneurship at Cornell Summer College. My roommate seemed completely different from me: she was from Hong Kong and attended boarding school. However, our common interest in the ukulele connected and entertained us. Our favorite song to play together was I’m Yours by Jason Mraz, who expressed our pre-college experience with 900 students from around the world with “Open up your mind and see like me, open up your plans and damn you’re free.” In the classroom, I worked to improve my ukulele program’s sustainability and expand it to other clubs by developing a business plan, communicating with the Boys & Girls Club, and pitching my idea to the class. This year, I am continuing my project and working with the Boys & Girls Club to make “Uke’an Be Happy,” the framework for 33 other Clubs in Central Sonoma County so that more kids have the opportunity to explore music.

I was initially drawn to the ukulele because it was something that could be mine alone. That my interest has evolved into something I can share surprises no one more than me. But I guess you just never know where the riptide can take you.