one of my favorites

right now i am doing one of my favorite things, something that i credit to my study abroad trip to vienna and my professor morton who taught my class music and culture in vienna: classicism to romanticism. i am listening to classical music, antonin dvořák from prague to be exact. i joined the class after i had met morton at the welcome dinner aha puts on when the new students arrive in vienna to begin the program. midway through the first lecture i thought about dropping, i hated it to be blunt. it was boring, the clock sludged on slower and slower, and i was not sure if i could stand twelve weeks of this. my view quickly changed slowly but surely from then on. at times it appeared that i was not paying attention, off in my own world of travel and culture. i was actually realizing how this was going to be more culture than i could handle at one time. i was going through a slow transformation and beginning to realize that i had more in common with my grandma joye than originally thought. i used to dread riding in the car with her listening to 90.9 fm, the university of cincinnati radio station that played opera and the classics, only to have a dj who talked in a slow monotoned tone suitable only for the hearing impaired that turned their aids off
long before he spoke his first word.

the class continued to be a struggle of will power to pay attention, but to absorb the information i found interesting ways to take my notes. not always on paper or organized notes, but more with mental notes or expressions through art. i would draw pictures or doodle my interpretation of his teachings. i wish i had an example of my notes to post. my ideas ranged from doodled copies of paintings that he passed around while others were my interpretations of philosophical thought that was expressed in the music. morton added a lot to my life including an appreciation for the arts and how to slow down my life in a way that is less cluttered. i know what you are thinking, if you look at me and everything that goes on, you may wonder how the hell my life could ever be uncluttered. what i mean is not that life becomes easier or you develop less problems, you in turn learn to clear your head and deal with the issues in a more organized manner. you relax, go with the flow, you remember to breathe. one way i do this is by listening to the music that i have grown to enjoy. beethoven, mozart, haydn, mendelssohn, and dvořák to name a few. these composers of the past have not only transcended time and numerous generations, but have also managed to teach me a thing or two about life.