When thinking about my own audio essay, I began to stress about how I was going to make my essay into something that people would actually want to listen to. I have always been better to express myself through writing that I have outloud so the thought of putting my story to words scares me. But, after listening to the audio essays for this week I have begun to relax a little. The essays this week were simple but powerful.

Something I noticed about all of the essays for this week was that they all made use of music. There were interludes in all three essays where the author stopped talking and let the music play. I think that the music that each author chose for their pieces helped to create the mood for the pieces.

Rachel Yoder’s piece used music in a very creative way. Music is so central to so many people’s lives and in Rachel Yoder’s piece you can almost see her progression in to adulthood through music. As a naive and young teen Rachel, used music as a way to rebel against the place that she forced to live. As she grows up she uses music to connect to connect to a world that is not her own and while at college Yoder even begins to sing herself. It is through music that Yoder finds her to friends at school. Music allows Yonder to connect to herself and to interact with those around her.

Joshua Wheeler in his pieces utilizes gospel music. The sound of the organ in the piece, for me, encapsulates the somber tone of the piece. The listener can tell when the piece is about to take a dark turn because the author choices the music he uses at these times deliberately. The piece begins with an upbeat choir but as the piece progresses and the listener learns the real cause for his sister’s sickness the music becomes dark and somber. Wheeler’s essay would have been powerful no matter what, but adding music really made it more powerful for me.

Until this week I never really thought about adding music to my piece. Honestly, I still have no idea what I would choose to add if I did put music in my own essay but it is something I am now considering. While writing the blog post for this week I have my headphones in listen to my own musical life. In the course of this essay I have listen to Johnny Cash, because that is what my father would play on our trips to basketball, Cher because that is what my mother used to play in the house while she was doing various things and Enough by Reba McEntire because well let’s just say I identify with it…