Experiences are lessons.
How experiences change perception.
Monophony, polyphony, heterophony, homophony…I'm tired of all this BLA-phonies. This week has been H-E-A-V-I. I know what you may be thinking, “that's not how you spell heavy bruh”, but I'll get into that later.
This week I had two experiences. On Tuesday, I went to Makaha, a beach in La Costa Verde, to interview Juan Jose Corzo, a professional surfer and founder of Corzo Surf School. In the interview, we talked about his life, his passion and the purpose behind creating his surf school (this was part of the IA marketing film project). Most of the things I heard coming out of this surfer’s mouth where totally unexpected and left me thinking. This week I have been also analyzing new unknown elements of music. IB Music has probably been the best and worst experience as a student.…But chill, this blog post isn't about music, surfing nor my “melodramatic teenage life”. No, this post is about experiences and how they change our perception.
Carlota Mestanza, my music teacher, has totally changed the way I hear music. Even though some of the things we learn in her class seem to be useless, those “things” are probably the only things I've learned in school that will influence and help me in my adulthood. As I've mentioned before in my blogs, I want to study music and, believe it or not, monophony, polyphony and all those different types of musical textures will be kept in my head until the day I die.
I still remember the first day I walked in her class. The first thing she told me was a bit scary but exciting. She said, “after you graduate, you will no longer listen to music the same way you did before joining IB Music, this class will change your perception of music completely”. The first two classes, when we learned about Middle Ages and the Gregorian Chants, I asked myself “what am I doing here?” I started to wonder if this class was actually worth it, however, as days and weeks go by, I am starting to notice how we use what we learn in our everyday lives.
Before meeting Ms. Carlota I would listen to my music and say stuff like: “listen to this sick beat”, or “man, did you hear that high note the singer just sang?!” Now, each time I hear a song, I try to fit in the concepts I've learned in music and use them as I listen. There has definitely been a change in the way I hear music. It’s not a huge change, but I can definitely feel that something has changed. I ask myself, “what would've happened if I didn't join IB Music with Ms. Carlota?” The answer is pretty simple, I would've wasted two complete school years studying chemistry or economics, subjects I won't need as much as Music after I graduate. Struggling is equivalent to success. I find it less painful to struggle studying music than to struggle learning the periodic table of elements for sure.
A second person I met this week who changed the way I view the world is Juan Jose Corzo. I never thought my way of seeing surf and the ocean would change simply by the words of a surfer. I bodyboard with my friends at least two times a month, and before I talked to Juan Jose, I saw surfing just as a pastime, a sport, a way to have fun. In our interview, speaking to Juan Jose changed my way of thinking. Juan Jose said that “people are robots”, and that they are so “busy with their lives and what happens around them that they’ve forgotten that the ocean is their essence”. I have to admit, when he said things like “we are also water”, I was like, “wait a minute, u high or some #&%$!?” But as the interview proceeded, he said something that has been circling around my head for a while. Juan Jose said that the purpose behind his surf school was to unite people with nature (ocean). Not only that, but he said that when people go to the ocean they go to forget about their problems. “Problems don't know how to swim, they stay on the shore”, he said. Talking to Juan Jose made me realize that the ocean is like a “therapist”. Hearing words like these coming from Juan Jose made me see how surfers view the ocean and the amazing connection they have with it.
My experiences with Carlota and Juan Jose have made me realize that the people we come into contact with make us hear and see the world as it really is. Experiences are H-E-A-V-I, and they change our perception of things by affecting the following things:
H: How We See Things
The way we see things before and after experiences are different. We always learn something from experiences and whether it´s something good or bad we try to take them with us.
E: Every Day We Learn Something
It could be something you learned in music class or the wise words of a surfer. Every day we learn something new, and that's why experiences are so important. Experiences are opportunities, and opportunities can't be wasted because they don't come that often.
A: Awaken
Experiences wake us up. And I don't mean “wake” like your sleeping and I wake you up, no. Experiences awaken us by teaching us and making us apprehend how valuable things are even if we don't think they are.
V: View
Every time you go through a new experience you gain a new perspective. Experiences help us be open minded and see things from other points of view.
I: Immortal
Experiences are immortal. Whatever you learn or take from an experience never dies or gets old. We learn something, use it some way or another in our lives and then teach it to others.
Having the chance to work with Carlota and Juan Jose has made me understand how valuable experiences are. they enable us to view things from other perspectives. Learning from people and taking advantage of opportunities is what changes our perception of things.
