Priorities

The morning is still dark and a light fog plagues the highway, which is probably the reason I’m only going 40mph, but it doesn’t matter because no one else is up at this time. As my 40 year-old Fiat chugs along, I drown out the overworked engine with Mozart’s Requiem in D minor, K. 626. Strings buzz, laying down a thick atmosphere of dread in which the choir bursts through to deliver bad news, but within this a battle emerges between the ancient choir strings duo and the newly born woodwinds. Getting off my exit, a new song plays Jazz Suite No. 2:VI, Waltz 2, an almost comedic song which is intertwined with beauty, and most importantly ends happily. I think Shostakovich does a good job with that. As I pull into school and start to walk to my early 6:30 class, I listen to Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, an epic tale, almost characteristic of a hero’s journey, in which battles emerge from different instruments, which eventually accompany each other in harmony to play complicated motifs, all leading to the end, a mashup of rhythms which come from the beginning of the song. It’s a really impressive song, all played by one person on piano. I walk into class, battle through my math final, and fail it. Next quarter will be the third time I take Math 142.