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The Express

The Student News Site of Sacramento City College

The Express

The Student News Site of Sacramento City College

The Express

Watch our words spread hope like fire

Photo+Illustration+by+Jason+Pierce+%7C+jpierce.express%40gmail.com++
Photo Illustration by Jason Pierce | [email protected]

A very disheartening event happened to me recently. My favorite comedy show is no longer funny.

Normally, a show loses its comedic touch when a writer or a character leaves the show. But none of these happened to my show. The writers are the same. The characters are the same. The issue is the world around us. The show I’m referring to is “The Daily Show” with Trevor Noah. His show, although satirical, is a “fake news” program and draws its content from recent news stories, political figures and media organizations and satirizes it.

The problem is the content has been increasingly depressing as each week of Trump’s presidency moves on. Each week, each segment they feature has gone from hysterical to amusing to interesting to downright depressing. After each show recently, I’ve been down right depressed. To get out of my funk, I take my dogs for a walk and listen to music.

Music has, for a long time, been my therapy. It’s my escape, my release from the harsh reality we live in now. I have been listening to music religiously since the sixth grade. To say that my music collection is eclectic would be a vast understatement. I have everything from Eminem to Beethoven to Jimmy Buffett in my iTunes library. All types of music have come to influence me and help me at different times in my life. I’d like to share a few of my favorite lyrics that have stuck over the years, because while the music is soothing, the lyrics that accompany the music are the most life-changing.

The first example is from Jimmy Buffett in his song “Son of a Son of a Sailor”:  “I’ve read dozens of books about heroes and crooks, and I’ve learned much from both of their styles.” As in music and in life, I’ve found that, just like Jimmy Buffett sings, there is rarely a black-and-white situation. There are a lot of gray situations. And sometimes, the right answer for one person is the wrong answer for another, and visa versa. But everything is a learning opportunity. You can learn not only what to do in certain situations but also what not to do, and often, that’s the more valuable lesson.

Another life lesson that the lyrics in music have taught me is by Augustana with its song “Boston”:  “I think I need a sunrise, I’m tired of sunsets.” I have been a West Coast kid all my life, living in places from Hawaii to California. A West Coast sunset is one of the most beautiful moments in life. Oranges, reds and yellows slowly burn out and give way to a beautiful hue of purples and blues that end in a night sky, twinkling with the stars of the Milky Way and a full moon. It’s the perfect ending to a day.
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But sometimes, that’s the issue. It’s an ending. Sometimes I want a fresh start. I want to start something new, not watch the end. I want to go somewhere new, where I don’t know anyone, and make a new impression, not know a person who knows my past and the mistakes I’ve made. I’m not ashamed of my mistakes, but I have learned from them and moved on. I want a fresh canvas to create my own art. I want a sunrise, not a sunset.

Luckily for us, City College can be, and has been, that place for me.

And last but not least, the most important lyric to me in making sense of an increasingly depressing world comes from “Secret Crowds” by Angels and Airwaves:  “Watch our words spread hope like fire.” This single line has shaped whom I have become over the last two years. Words are a powerful element in civilization, the building blocks of communication. Words bind together the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, the foundational documents of our country.

Words have built friendships and ended wars. They are the desired choice of my future. I want to write and tell stories. I want to describe game seven with three seconds left, leaving you gripping the paper as if you were there. I want to share my opinion with you, in hopes that you will respond with yours. I want to have discussions about the future with you, getting as many points of view as possible to shape the best future imaginable for the next generation.

Music can help me escape the present. Music lyrics help me imagine a greater future.

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