#17

music is the most expressive weapons:: chasing the vision
Performer:
I took a deep breathe. Relaxing my mind by looking out at the candles that lay on the table. I'm not even sure why I was nervous in the first place. Music is my forte. The only way I know to release my mind.

It was my first poetry slam, and once I set out my keyboard I knew this was where I belonged. I didn't belong in a lab. Not even at the library. I belonged on the stage, and this was reconfirmed when I heard the snaps given after my piece.

Success to me isn't about following the money. It's about chasing a vision. Too many people talk about doing something but when it comes to the action part, some people take a little light vacation. Music is about moving people. I'm not about to take a vacation on my part as a musician.

Viewer:
I only came to see my friend perform a piece. It also helped that there was some snacks in the back. Which I happily took as I found a seat on the side. I didn't know many people here, so I just smiled in the back, taking a bite of cupcake every now and then. I really had to get started on some much needed studying, I'll probabley be leaving early. The show started then, and I was surprised by the variety of the performances: spoken word, emcees, musicians.

Each doing something special. I've never seen spoken word before: it was a mixture of acting and poetry reading. Expressing their feelings with the tone of their voices, I got a bit emotional with the stories. The emcees though were the sickest part (and by sick, I mean the best). The fact that music can cross boundaries isn't even a surprise. Here I was, an asian girl, and yet- I had to give to a sound of applause to the emcee's performance, whose one line that said "people talk about diversity/ but man, what happened to some equality?" was refreshing to me, like a full day of sunshine after two days of rain.

Music is about telling the truth. And these poetry readers were delivering it.