This I Believe

"This I Believe" essay written on 9/18/14.

I believe that books and music are two lifelines, two resources to turn to when all else fails, branches

to grab before you fall and break your neck. It's been said for generations that nothing is perfect, but I

disagree. The core concepts of books and music are perfect. Each lifeline has a genre for every

possible mood. Whether you feel like nothing can stop you, or that everything has stopped you,

there is a book or song for you to experience.

Experience is a key term here because an amazing thing about both lifelines is that one song or book

can have infinite meanings for one person that experiences it, and a thousand different meanings for

someone else. Rock singer Dave Grohl has said that “You can sing a song to 85,000 people and

they'll sing it back for 85,000 different reasons." One reader or music listener can develop themes or

messages differently than someone else who reads the same book or listens to the same song.

When I was much younger, my love for the written word wasn't different than it is now. If anything my

enjoyment of books has grown. I've even started to write my own. I didn't discover my passion for

writing until my seventh grade year in middle school. I uncovered that the words I was incapable of

saying could be expressed through stories. I could develop new worlds, the kinds that I enjoyed

exploring through other writers' work. Writing stories became a frequently­used form of leisure for me.

As author Neil Gaiman has said, books “are not escapist, they are escape,” and writing for me is the

means to my own departure from reality, my own escape. When I'm not enjoying time as a creator, I'm

often reading other creators' work.

Reading is like being inside the subconscious of the author. His or her thoughts have bled onto the

pages and will never die. You're entrapped by this man or woman's words and have been brought into

an entirely new world where skies can rain french fries, ponds can become oceans within the blink of

an eye, wizards can summon slugs, telekinetically empowered victims of bullying can destroy a school

and the surrounding environment on the night of their prom. And all of a sudden you've managed to

forget about your residency at Heartbreak Hotel.

Books contain great stories, and songs can tell great stories, too, but in a different way. Songwriters

are poets that express their written words musically, through vocals and instruments that make you

feel. Much like love or depression, the feelings that bloom from books or songs are involuntary.

Concert attendees don't nod their heads or dance to the music that's being played because they think

it's socially acceptable (not the majority of them, anyway); they move their body because the music is

making them feel something. When you're in love and you can't seem to find words greater than “I love

you,” you kiss the one you love. You need to kiss them because they make you feel the need to. Music

and books, just like that person who's stolen your heart, give you life.

Reviews

[Dot]

Greetings Mr.Acciarino.

The first thought that hits my mind somewhere around the beginning of the second paragraph; the author simply cannot be fifteen years of age. My rationality seems to struggle in just accepting that, for these are not usual contemplations of one of that age, no; these thoughts simply must be conceptualized within the mind of one who has deeply pondered on the subject being discussed, and that, for a fifteen year old, to me, seems a little farfetched. Then again, if I was to apply my own experiences of being that age, it could only be construed as relational bias, for at the time I was that age, I - through what I now understand was a subconscious coping mechanism - turned of my mind rather than listen to it. However, it is these thoughts precise thoughts that blossomed in my own mind when I too adopted reading and writing as a means to firstly escape, and secondly understand all my own subjective experiences, and therefore, to connect these experiences when I was eighteen with yours now, you, my friend, are on a beautiful path, and, if I was to allow myself to connect with the sensations of jealousy, I would say you have had a large head-start over many individuals.

"Experience is a key term here because an amazing thing about both lifelines is that one song or book
can have infinite meanings for one person that experiences it...". Precisely, and experience is the key to understanding the reality in which one lives, yet, it is not experience alone that allows one the mean to understand. Experience, if it could be classified as a being unto itself, is but one element, and one that stands ultimately alone, and invisible to those who have not the ability to see it. What makes experience invaluable comes not from the simple ability to metaphorically observe it, no; for one can still view one's experiences and fail to comprehend its meaning or purpose, what makes it as precious as one's own life, is the connectivity between the experience itself and one's primary ability to decipher what subjective understanding one can obtain in doing to. In order to achieve the latter, one must firstly learn to observe experience as a source of profound knowledge, and to never allow that thought to dissipate. Every transient and fleeting second of one's conscious awareness can - if one is able - teach the individual in question, an innumerable amount of information, which then can be metamorphosed into an introspective ideal, and it is this that is invaluable; that ideal, reached at not from the perspective of others, but of the individual's intrapersonal rumination.

I'm dreadfully sorry for the tangent, I'll swiftly return to the topic at hand. My favorite portion of your essay here, without a doubt is your knowledge and profound insight into the not-so-much opposing natures that separate literature from music, and your understanding of the natures of human behavior astounds me... I mean..."Much like love or depression, the feelings that bloom from books or songs are involuntary. Concert attendees don't nod their heads or dance to the music that's being played because they think it's socially acceptable (not the majority of them, anyway); they move their body because the music is making them feel something." If you didn't already know, that quote, is one of the greatest things I have read for a while, and also of substantial intellect, bravo monsieur! Trés, trés, trés bien! And the final sentence, well, what foresight I have allows me to predict that if you continue along the path you are traveling, you will surpass all others on that same path, your pure mentality alone is of superlative quality, and shall take you far if you allow yourself to fall deep into thoughts. But allow me to say here, the analytical approach to experience can (I don't intend to suggest that it WILL be) lead one into the back-alleys of the mind, which can be terrifying at times, highly insightful at other times, but each dark turn will provide the most interesting of introspections.

Advice? None on the writing, it is clear to me you have superior skill in the subject, there is nothing I can say to help improve in that respect. Other advice, perhaps. Due to my understanding of your high intelligence, I would just say this; do not shy away from experience; obviously there are things in this world that can ruin one's ability to reason and function with rationality, and it is these things that create the darkest of times, but in themselves these things can be (I shall only say here that they CAN be) some of the deepest source of experience. Yes, experience as much as you can, but understand - which I know you already do...I'm still astounded here - that experience is worthless without your own comprehension of each separate event, and comprehension comes from your own subjective rumination. Perhaps here it would be good to suggest a certain example; the statue of "The Thinker"; adopt that pose often, and allow your thoughts to ponder, but perhaps with some clothes on...

If I was a teacher, this would achieve the highest mark possible. But then again mi amigo, is that not only my opinion?