Voices of Youth

“Braaaaaghhh! Your alarm goes off, and you spring out of bed, into the shower, off down the stairs, trying to knot your tie and fix a cup of coffee at the same time. Oh! The toast is over baked, but then you think to yourself – “Lunch at work (school) would be better”, and with that thought you run out to catch the bus down the street. Tic-Tuc. Tic-Tuc. The day flows so normally, just like any Tuesday would; and even without looking at the time, you get off the chair and head for the cafeteria. It is 12.15pm – Lunch time! Then follows the usual sounds: people chatting and chewing; metal cutleries clicking on ceramic plates; and the occasional door slamming. The rest of the day drains away with sounds like: humming from the photocopy machine; clicking sound of the office stapler; zooming sound of the cars passing by; not forgetting the frequent shouts from Mr. Tom – he sure has a temper. So one is grateful to be out of the building and back to “home-sweet-home”. Now that’s your playlist for the day, as what’s left is to go to bed at the end of the game and run through the playlist again – starting with “Braaaaaaghhhh”

Source: http://challengefuture.org/news/282

How are you today? I was thinking how good would it be if everyone around would have a good day, if you’d smile and get a smile back, if optimism and joy would be the norm. Would it be boring or would you be fed with positive energy? And how could this positive energy be spread all over? And I finally figured it out! Music! The so called international language that connects people no matter the religion, nationality or ethnicity. Did you ever think that the music you listen to affects your day by day performance, your mood or interactions with others? Music has a profound effect on your body and psyche. In fact, there’s a growing field of health care known as Music Therapy, which uses music to heal. Music bonds people, bonds souls thousands of miles away, calls for action. For example, Live Earth’s events and concerts have the purpose to ignite a global movement aimed at solving the most critical environmental issues of our time. Nelson Mandela’s 46664 movement to raise awareness and prevention of HIV/AIDS reaches to people through multi-artist concerts and entertainment events. And what about this simple and yet powerful way to unite people, Playing for Change which is a multimedia movement created to inspire, connect, and bring peace to the world through music ?

Putting more music in your life is a powerfully enriching tool. Now let’s hear Nubi Kayode, our beloved Action Team Writer giving us a valuable tip on how to make music a part of our lives:
“Braaaaaghhh! Your alarm goes off, and you spring out of bed, into the shower, off down the stairs, trying to knot your tie and fix a cup of coffee at the same time. Oh! The toast is over baked, but then you think to yourself – “Lunch at work (school) would be better”, and with that thought you run out to catch the bus down the street. Tic-Tuc. Tic-Tuc. The day flows so normally, just like any Tuesday would; and even without looking at the time, you get off the chair and head for the cafeteria. It is 12.15pm – Lunch time! Then follows the usual sounds: people chatting and chewing; metal cutleries clicking on ceramic plates; and the occasional door slamming. The rest of the day drains away with sounds like: humming from the photocopy machine; clicking sound of the office stapler; zooming sound of the cars passing by; not forgetting the frequent shouts from Mr. Tom – he sure has a temper. So one is grateful to be out of the building and back to “home-sweet-home”. Now that’s your playlist for the day, as what’s left is to go to bed at the end of the game and run through the playlist again – starting with “Braaaaaaghhhh”.

Image by: City of Vancouver Well here’s my playlist: I step out of bed from the alarm clock interrupting the jazzy mood from which I went to bed the night before. Then, I press the play button on my pop playlist; get myself a bowl of cereal and then step into the shower – humming the tunes and occasionally singing along to my favorite songs. As soon as I’m ready to go out to school on weekdays or work on weekends, I shut down my desktop, but not the music; as I put on my headphones and load my rock (alternative, soft, and classical types preferred) playlist and step out with my backpack on. So, what about my lunch time? Fortunately for me, most cafeteria do play music of different genre – not so loud, but filtering softly out of the nicely positioned speakers. I therefore, look for these places to have lunch, but then I got my mp3-player as back-up. Sure seems like the day couldn’t get anymore musical, but that is so wrong. I go back home on a bus and sit close to the driver, so as to make him tune the radio to the music frequency, and if it’s a car drive, I guess I do the same (mp3-player again when walking or cycling). Ah! The evenings are the best for me, as I get to engage in musical activities ranging from: hitting the karaoke bar with friends; going dancing at parties with colleagues; organizing mini-concerts to perform music to the public; playing my guitar to chords from the famous website (http://ultimate-guitar.com) or simply chilling in front of my computer – working/studying, with the music on. Did I hear you say bedtime? Yeah, I go to bed again with the music – oldies, jazz, blues, and classical (auto-off is set to save energy). Hmmm! But then does it matter if we got different things on our daily playlists? Well it does. Your playlist does affect the way your day goes, as well as your performance. Music as they say and as I can attest to is “Food for the soul”. It does have therapeutic effects, but above all, isn’t it just good to be surrounded by music? Moreover, wouldn’t you want to have a playlist of melodious tunes, rather than the annoying buzzes from the busy people around you day-in day-out? Yaaay! It is a new year again – la la la la la la. Share with the community: What is currently on your playlist, and the modification that you would be making in the coming days? Main singer: Nubi with backing vocals Nadya and Dan