Musical Medicine by Kristina

Musical Medicine by Kristina - January 2017 Scholarship Essay

When I was seven, I tried karate. Going into it, I was extremely excited to try a new sport! I felt so cool knowing that I could tell Mrs.Gibbons’s second graders all about my brand new, ultra- crisp white robe. "That’s right Peter, I’m practically a ninja!" But unfortunately, my time at the dojo didn’t end up working out. As it happens, I am a very clumsy person, and thus faced hardship learning a sport that demands agility and coordination.
Even though I stopped my classes, and probably twisted my ankles more times than the number of moves I learned, it was there that I found my voice. Well, maybe not there specifically. It was more like fifteen or so feet away from there, in the car with my mother, where I found my voice. On the way home from my lessons, in an attempt to stop the defeat that I so often felt, my mother would play music loudly, and we’d dance and sing along. It started with her pink Aretha Franklin’s Greatest Hits CD. After the greatest love of my elementary school life broke my heart, I took it from the car and kept it in a little pink disc player and listened to it when I felt lonely. Music became increasingly important in my life, until it became my refuge from any and all things.
I find joy in music and singing because music has healed me. It heals my mind and my body. It helps me to cope when the world is swampy and unfair. It helped me find the will to explore some more after a failed karate career. It shows me the way to understanding the world and also the way to understanding myself. It comforted me after the long trips home from the hospital after my favorite grandma died, and it has helped to calm me on every school bus ride home I take with a weary heart since. Through studying complex rhythms, I have gained the critical thinking skills that help me to excel in my science classes, and the self assurance to know that I am capable of success in even traditionally male-dominated fields.
I am no stranger to the confused look people adopt after I tell them I want to pursue a career in the medical field. Aren’t you more passionate about performing? Well the truth is, the part of performance that I love is that it helps people live better, happier, healthier lives. Music gets people on their feet! The physical and psychological benefits are astounding. You see, being an audience member teaches a person to keep a present mind. When you see a live performance, you get to forget about your problems for a few short hours and just simply "be." Everyone deserves to feel this kind of contentment, and I want to be a part of helping people feel this way through traditional medicine. What I’ve come to know through the experiences I’ve had on the stage is that music is about giving to one another. Life is about giving to one another, and a life dedicated to healing people, and helping families to live more content lives is exactly the sort of life I want to live. Not everyone is blessed with something that helps them weather the storms of life, as I am. I feel a kind of responsibility to pay it forward, to provide others with a safety net when diagnoses get scary, and to gain the knowledge to help others live healthier, longer lives. Music is an immeasurable part of me because it empowers me to do all the good I can, in all the ways I know how.