Magic of Melody

[Jennifer Lam]

People take music for granted. I love listening to music at anytime of the day. I wake up to my favorite song in the morning. I enjoy music when I’m getting ready to go to class, eating my breakfast, walking to class and back to my room. I feel like music is essential to my everyday life because it picks me up when I am down or calms me when I am upset. As I write this, I hear “After the rain, a rainbow appears in the blue sky,” a line from a song sung by Wang Leehom, a Chinese singer. Leehom reminds me about the beauty of the world, even through all this rain. He also gives me hope to see the sun again and feel the warmth of its rays.But what if there was not even a single sound in your life? What would life be like if you were deaf? You would not be able to hear birds chirping in the mornings, warnings from fire alarms, or beautiful melodies sung by talented artists. I would feel depressed because there would not be any music to cheer me up. People do not think about how lucky they are to be able to hear everything that goes on around them. I cherish music every moment because I always think about what would happen if it disappeared. When I was little, I was almost pronounced handicapped because doctors could not find a cure for my ear infection. They told my parents to be emotionally prepared for the possibility that I could become permanently deaf, if the infection did not clear up. Because my parents didn’t give up on me, I treasure the fact that I am able to hear, not only music, but everyday sounds. Without the ability to hear, I would not be the same person I am today. I wouldn’t have been able to have a conversation with my friends or to enjoy the concerts here at UCLA.This is why I listen to music everyday: to remind myself that I am lucky to have my hearing.