I Remember...

I remember specifically the day that I decided to pursue a future career in my field of study.  As a junior in high school the talk of college and what I was supposed to do with the rest of my life was becoming more and more relevant every single day.  How was I supposed to know what I wanted to be when I grew up, I had better things to worry about...like playing volleyball and spending time with my high school sweetheart (plot twist: he wasn't really the love of my life).  College was years down the road, I didn't have to worry about those decisions yet.  That being said, I do not remember why I chose to browse Eastern Kentucky University's webpage for majors within the College of Health Sciences (or for that matter, why EKU was even the chosen school), but what I do remember was being immediately certain that a career in occupational therapy was what I was supposed to do with my life.

Even though I had no clue up until this point that occupational therapy was my dream career (or that it even existed) I had known for a few years that I wanted to pursue a degree in something in the medical field.  Many young adults today understand that a medical degree is one that will always be needed because medical attention is necessary in some form or fashion by individuals every single day.  However, this was not the driving force behind this decision for me.  Sadly, my decision stemmed from a very different event. (WARNING: this is about to get personal!)

In August of 2009, I lost my mother to a three year battle against multiple myeloma, an incurable cancer of the bone marrow.  I will spare you all the details on the years of treatments and procedures that she endured, the important lesson was what I was able to take away from the situation.  While I miss my mommy more and more every single day, I learned from her that the best thing that I could ever choose to do with my life would be to help others strive to get back to normal health every single day.  While nothing could be done to keep her here with me even though that is all I really want, I can one day give someone else hope that what I am doing will change their life and give them an opportunity to enjoy the things they love with the ones they love...so that is how I got to where I am today. 

-K

    

I Am Here

I asked my parents if I could play the piano when I was seven years old. No one in my family played and I had never really been around music or instruments extensively but, for some reason I asked. One of the greatest gifts my parents gave me was saying yes to my eager, inspired little eyes. Mr. Mogab, my next door neighbor at the time, was getting a new piano and he was generous enough to give the seven year old girl living next-door his old piano. I'd never seen anything so beautiful in my life. I couldn't keep my hands off of it. The pedals fascinated me, and I became increasingly entranced by the different sounds that I could pull out of the instrument. Through a move across the country, building relationships, watching some of them fall, a couple different schools and a lot of years, that piano is still sitting across from my bed in my room. 

 

Some notes don't work anymore because it took one too many angry emotional playing sessions. The bench is a little too wobbly to play on from the wear of many improv duets and exploration with friends.  It can't project like it used to and it isn't conducive to a lot of the repertoire I am taking on these days, but I will never not have that piano across from my bed. That piano defines me. It is a part of my being. Through all of the "stuff" that we all go through, that piano was always there for me to vent into. The way that I feel when I am encompassed in sound, when I am able to create art by manipulating sound, emotion, time, there is absolutely nothing like it. To have a way to work through my feelings, thoughts, and contemplations in a tangible way has allowed for an understanding of myself, beauty, and art in a way that I know I am lucky to have.  

 

I am a music major because I love the feeling of creating something that will only be in that moment. After the last note the music is gone and all that is left is the way that you and your audience experienced the moment that you created, but I have no idea where that will go, or how music will look as a part of my life five or ten years down the road. Whatever I do I will continue to create. I love what I am learning, the people that are in my field, and the relationships I have gained through my musical studies, and I plan on continuing to enjoy that for however long joy comes from it. I'm not so concerned with what will happen later, and maybe that's inspired or maybe it's stupid, but I'm gonna go with it. My passions reach far from music and may take me places I wouldn't have dreamed they would, but today I'm concerned with being here, in the moment that I am creating, the sounds that I make, and the experience that I create for other people. I'll look to the next performance when it comes.

 

bisous,

SK

 

 

"Oh... I'm Sorry"

That's what a young man, about my age, said to me when I told him my major was "Apparel Design and Merchandising." Hm. Actually, sir, I am the sorry one. I am sorry that you're probably going to be cramming numbers all day, or staring at a computer from 9-5. I am sorry that you came into the clothing store where I work and decided to offend me. You'd probably be sorry if people like me listened to people like you and you didn't have any clothes to put on your pretentious back.

Ok ok.. now I am sorry, that was probably rude. There's nothing wrong with numbers and I admire people who love them. I, however, am not one of them.

I just get passionate about what I do. Which is exactly why I chose the field I did. I love fashion, but not just for the clothing. I love the freedom it gives individuals. I love that with every new day, you can reinvent yourself with what you put on. I love that the saying, "what comes around, goes around" applies in this world and you can almost guarantee that the jacket Aunt Sally gave to Goodwill last week, will be some teenagers treasure next year. I love the art that is draping, the creativity that is structure, and the unpredictability that is hem-lines. Regardless of my personal tastes, I love the endless plays on color. And almost above all, I love the people who love it too. We inspire each other, we cheer each other on, we fill in the missing links. We give people something to think about on the street, put things for people to gawk at on the runway, and we even make your grandma's favorite moomoos. Whether you realize it or not, like it or not, fashion is everywhere. You just have to open your eyes.

Some people say it's a competitive field. And they're right. But I believe that if you're doing what you love, you're in the right place. Have a little faith, and your path will unravel before your eyes. That's not to say success doesn't take hard work and determination, but what field doesn't? So here's to not being a waste of heart, for taking a stand for passion, using my natural-born instincts to make a career, and never giving up. And here's to you doing the same. (whether its cramming numbers or painting a canvas.)

-Lo

A Moment.

Do you ever think that every moment in your life, lined up exactly how they have been, has gotten you exactly where you are at this exact moment. A TV show, obviously not a very memorable one because I can't remember the name of it, made me aware of this not too long ago and it's crossed my mind since then a few times when I was drinking a coffee or heating up a lean pocket. Like really think about it, think about the moments that changed your life. What if you started your car a second later? What if you didn't go to that store or hadn't met that person? How different could your life possibly be if you were off by one second? Think about if you were conceived a second later. Well, you wouldn't be you.

So, what led me here? What moment can I pinpoint that got me on this course? The one that led me to writing a blog post. The right answer, I guess, is every second of my life, but not speaking so literally I'll go back to the first day of my freshman year of college. I sat down next to what would later become my best friends in college, but not before a good amount of loneliness and self-loathing my freshman year. The fun came after that freshman awkward stage many college students experience... at least I hope we weren't the only ones. So that moment was when I met them, but we were classmates for that first year. I thought they were super cool though and I kept doing the "WOW, they're so cool, I should totally be friends with them, but their too cool for me." Which is lame and pathetic I know, but that's what I thought. I'm just trying to base our relationship on honesty, especially since we're just getting to know each other. Also we were all caught up in stupid relationships that all ended eventually which didn't make us too concerned with having friends.

Fast forward through a few semesters and the three of us, who really knew no one else but each other, decided to be roommates. Fast forward a semester later and I couldn't imagine college life without them, they accept me, understand me, and laugh at me and with me appropriately. They eat unhealthy amounts of junk food with me, encourage me in all of my crazy ideas about life, laugh, cry and do life with me. They have made my life better for knowing them. So the obvious thing to do at this stage of the relationship is to start a blog. We rant to each other daily about all manner of things and for some reason we think that other people will think that what we have to say is worth listening to. We think so at least. So here it goes. The good, the bad, and the cheesy. Me and my two wonderful roommates. A music major that actually wants to be a lawyer, and Occupational Therapy Major, and a Fashion and Merchandising Major. A moment brought us together. From now on you get to be a part of the moments to come.

-SK