Goosebumps and harmony

It's 2:00am, and I'm wide awake (with the assistance of coffee) because I need to study for a midterm.
While I sit here in this quiet study lounge, I can't help but wish it were summer time and I was not in Boston. Rather I'll be in New York, Hong Kong, Paris...I don't know, anywhere but.

And while I study for this horrific class, I begin to wonder...how do you instill interest and passion into your students? How do you motivate people? Is there a difference between those who merely teach and those who are sharing a story and a part of themselves with us? And to widen the scope of this conversation, what separates those who lead and those who are leaders?

Although I'm sure there are so many answers to these questions, I know that personally, if you can leave with me a message that I will remember for many years to come...then as a leader, a mentor, or teacher, you have done your part. This leads me to a story about my chamber choir teacher, Ms. Hall, from high school. I know it's difficult to compare a chorus class with a math class but I think great teachers can inspire students no matter what medium they use.

I remember it was my junior year. The entire chamber choir was packed onto the stage of the auditorium for rehearsal. (Rehearsal is usually in a room unless a concert is coming up.) For those of you who don't know Ms. Hall, she is quite indescribable but she is the type of teacher who you fear but love just as dearly. So mid-song, she's screaming at us to breathe properly. Then she stops the song to point me out from the first row (why am I short?) as an example of how collectively we're screwing up completely. To fix my mistake, she makes me lie on my back on the stage in front of the entire class and tells me to breathe from my diaphragm. (If I'm doing it right, then my stomach will be moving and this will be obvious when you're lying down.)

It's been almost 4 years. I'll be lying if I said it wasn't embarrassing. But still, if I have to choose a class that has influenced me the greatest at Stuyvesant, it would be Chamber Choir (and Creative Non-Fiction with Mr. Weil comes a very close second). I really learned a mini-lesson that I still treasure and keep tucked away in the back of my mind. Like I mentioned above, I view most things in life as a medium. Sometimes, it's not really about what you're doing. It doesn't matter if you are a teacher, a business person, a doctor...what matters is what your message is. And whether you're a teacher or a doctor, your message can still be the same. Like art, you can use music, color, or film to share the exact same story. These things are universal.

Today I love singing just as much and times like these, I really miss singing with a group of people. It's strange but I long for the vibration of harmonizing, the spinning of air, and the goosebumps. These things sound so intangible but they're far from that. But aside from just singing, what I learned from Ms. Hall is just to...be. Put yourself in uncomfortable situations. Say what is on your mind. Just live -- be quirky if that's who you are. Who cares if you look like an idiot, "you only live once, but if you live it right...once is enough."

Now...back to studying the true intangibles. I must keep treading!