Color Lane
By Peter Choi, Cypress, California
The last note of the song reverberated down the street as the people clapped, quietly cheered, and shed tears of joy. Press Stop. Now rewind.
A couple of years ago when I was a freshman entering high school, I did not expect for it to be much different from junior high. However, I was wrong. It was during this time when I reached the lowest point in my life. Lonely lunches, parents’ disappointed faces, and rejections from my peers wounded my young soul. Hardship and pain attacked my life, as I struggled to maintain my grades, relationships, and walk with God.
In my desperation, I chose music as an escape from all the hardships that I faced. At the end of the long day, when I lied down to sleep, I would close my eyes and listen to music for hours. This was the only moment of the day when I felt at peace. Serene. Free of stress. Free to breathe. Free of pressure. Free from the hardships of life. Freedom.
Through the darkest hours of my life, music brought hope to my heart and encouraged me to persevere. Slowly but surely, I began climbing out of the abyss that I had fallen in. Even after recovering from such a hard fall, I continued to passionately listen to music and the messages that it conveyed to me. Jon Foreman’s moving lyrics, “I know now you're my only hope,” helped me to realize that even during such times, God would be the only one to stand beside me.
After this experience, music allowed me to take a step back from my life and to ask myself how I could better the lives of others who were less fortunate than me.
I decided that in order to make a difference, I would start simply by helping out my community. Every Saturday morning, I went out to Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles with a group of people and distributed breakfast for the homeless people living there.
Starting on the first day, I quickly realized that the people seemed emotionless and cold. They rarely responded to our greetings, and their only motive was to take the food and leave. After watching these people, I felt empathy towards them. Even though I had not experienced the same situation as they had, I knew what it felt like to face such a hard point in life. As the weeks passed, the stark, black and white street only seemed to grow colder.
Then I had an idea: music. Because music brought so much encouragement to my life during my hardest times, I was motivated to share the music with the people there.
The following week, a couple of friends and I formed a small praise team and began playing music for the homeless people while they waited in line for the food. Even though we were not very talented musicians, the people seemed to notice our effort and enthusiasm. As weeks passed by, people slowly began to open up. Instead of hastily leaving with their food, some people even sat down to listen to a couple of praise songs. By the end of the month, the people who were once closed up and careless were now smiling and singing along to our music.
Last week, as I looked at the people standing before me, I couldn’t help but smile. Music was the answer. It was music that had transformed these people from indifferent strangers to a unified family who sang for the same purpose: glorifying God. Even though the lives of the homeless people were so different from mine, music allowed for our lives to connect and to share a common passion. It was at that moment when I discovered that music is magic. It had taken a black and white street, and carefully painted it into a street thriving with vibrant and beautiful colors. Not only did music paint the street, but it also painted my once colorless life into a brand new one: a life full of love, hope, and meaning. Each individual brushstroke of melody was placed on the canvas in order to create one masterpiece.
Music is more than just a sound that comes out of our mouths, speakers, or instruments. Music is magic. Music is indescribable. Whether it be the powerful lyrics or the soothing instrumentals, music has the power to heal hearts and change the way that we as human beings act and think. Music is just another tool God uses to perform miracles. However, that music cannot be made without our cooperation. “Where words fail, Music speaks” – Hans Christian Anderson. Now it’s your turn. Press play.
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