Petroleum

For our first project in Fuel we chose a natural source of energy that is non-renewable. I chose petroleum. I researched when petroleum was first discovered and its current status. While researching I was also looking for the peak production of petroleum (when we had the most petroleum). I also predicted how many years it would take for petroleum to run out. One thing that I am proud of are my calculations for the slope and the prediction. Throughout this research about petroleum, I learned that petroleum reached its peak earlier that I thought it would be.

I believe in music

For our first project for the course Who Am I, we study what truth means to us and what we believe in. I had to choose something that I believe in and make a pod cast. I choose to believe in music. One thing I am proud of is my essay that includes my experience with music. A challenge that I had was recording my self because there was lots of noise around me. During this project I learned how to do a podcast.

Pixabay

My fingers felt as tangled as a double knot. “Karla let it go feel the rhythm”, my teacher said. Taking music classes has helped me express myself through music. Music is defined as an art of sound in time that expresses ideas, emotions, and memories through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color. I believe in music!

Every time I completed and learned a piece of music, I felt relieved and proud of myself. I was especially proud if the piece I mastered was in a fast tempo.  Learning how to play an instrument and how to read music was hard and frustrating, just like life can be, sometimes. For example, learning how to play the piano was hard for me because had my hands have to be in a certain position. My teacher used to tell me, “You have to pretend you have a crystal apple in your hands”, which meant that I had to hold my hands in an arc and not let them fall. This way I had to use all my fingers. It was hard for me at that time because I wasn't used to using my pinkie or having my hands in a certain position for an hour. As I began to master the skills, my pieces got harder meaning the tempos would change more often and I had to use different keys. Eventually, I got to a point where I was introduced to the pedal. The pedal made the notes you played last longer, like an echo. I played piano for couple of years then I decided to change instruments because I wanted to play an instrument that nobody else played. It was hard to think of one, finally I chose the harp. When I told the director of the program she was glad because she was  introducing a new instrument to the school. And lucky for me, a lady had already donated a harp, so I was going to be the first student to play the harp!! I was so excited learning a new instrument that would give me a different point of view of music, which I thought would change my life.

Learning the harp was easier than I expected it to be. Playing the harp was surprisingly similar to the the piano, the only difference was you play the piano from left to right and the harp from right to left. The metal strings on the harp left blisters on my fingertips after  practicing for 30 minutes.  But I knew that was good for me because my harp teacher has lots of blisters too and shes a professional. I worked hard to get good at the harp because I was required to perform not only for my teacher, but in front of the whole school. That experience was scary, but I learned to conquer my fears by memorizing the music and making sure that I was ready to perform as well as I can.

I believe in music because it connects to your experiences from the past and what you are feeling right now. This often leads to daydreaming and brings back memories. When you listen to music you like or connect to, it allows your body to express itself in different ways like dancing, singing, crying, laughing or being angry. When you play music, it helps you express yourself and lets your emotion go into the piece you are playing.  

I’ve liked music since the day I was born.  I would always dance when I heard music no matter what type of music and I would improvise my routines throughout my house. When I was 3 years old I learned how to express my emotions through dance in my ballet class. And later in life, in Mexican Folkloric ballet and now, in my music classes.

Music isn't something you can explain, you have to experience music. Listening to music and making music are two different things but similar at the same time. Listening to music allows you to connect to your emotions and memories freely. While, performing is more focused and requires to you to practice for weeks until you’ve mastered the piece. A benefit of playing is the sense of pride you get when you’ve finished a performance, and you get to hold your head up high to receive applauses from a big audience. Music is your identity.