bemusedlybespectacled:

if you ever think mythology is boring or serious business or whatever shit

just remember that cerberus, the hell-hound and guard dog of the underworld, comes from the root indo-european word ḱerberos, which evolved into the greek word kerberos, which got changed to cerberus when it went from greek to latin

ḱerberos means “spotted”

that’s right

hades, lord of the dead, literally fucking named his pet dog spot

Um, I see your story and raise you OPERA.

(via goosemaverickgoose)

It’s been an intersting few months. Every day there seems to be some new reason why I lose my motivation for continuing in music or some other discouragement. I’m frustrated with my vocal technique, practicing, lessons, choir, competitions, you name it: I feel like I just can’t get it right. Somedays I am beyond serious about dropping everything here and starting over in say, statistics (which I’ve always loved) or psychology. But for whatever reason (I used to believe it was just fear) I can never quite bring myself to go into the office for my withdraw form. One time, I found myself at the conservatory office door before walking on, to another day of frustration and dead ends. 

But brewing in my mind over the past week or so has been the real reason I’ll never leave music: because there is NOTHING on this earth so powerful or life-changing, and nothing that can seal the love that holds us together better than music.

Music, at its core, is about community. Whether it’s gathering with your village to sing songs that were passed down through the generations, meeting a stranger while dancing a dance everyone knows, or spying on other aristocrats in an opera house, music has always brought people together. One thing that is certain, is that music is never ever done alone. When you are working on a new choral piece, or a dance you’ve never done, or even an aria alone in a practice room, you are sharing an experience with everyone who has ever sung that song or danced that dance. In an ensemble, the people you are with become your family, and the girl you would never have talked to in the hall becomes your best friend (if only for the hour). Music brings people together, in a world where, it seems, everything else only drives people apart. And isn’t that beautiful? 

In my life, I have met my best friends and formed my strongest relationships through shared, musical experiences. Burning anger and indignation at any perceived injustice are tossed aside because, without community, the music suffers. Like any family, a music ensemble can be filled with drama, but at the end of the day the people I make music with ARE my family and I would do anything for them. 

In re-reading this post, it occurs to me how hokie this must sound to the average person. But anyone who has ever made music surely must recognize the sentiment. Music overcomes any barrier; it transcends languages, centuries, race, gender, and hatred. In a world where so much is falling apart at the seams, music brings us the hope that we can COME TOGETHER to put the world BACK TOGETHER. 

And that’s why I’ll never leave… because I wil never be able to find anything else that so unifies and enhances the human experience. Our time here is brief, but music lasts forever. Nothing could be more beautiful, and nothing could be more worth the pain-staking time, effort, and frustration that go into sharing profound musical experiences. 

And nothing was better. I spent such a long time thinking I was doing things right. And instead, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

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Because of the hyper-stigmatized world we live in, this post might make some people uncomfortable. So it begins after the jump.

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