So I have this Music History class every Tuesday and Thursday. That’s not exactly very often, I’d say, even with a lot else on my plate. So I really have no trouble making it to class every week. And I’ve got to admit, I’m greatly puzzled when the seemingly smartest kid in class is constantly missing. He’ll show up every other week or so, sometimes (rarely) two classes in a row, and of course he’ll always be there for the tests, but he always knows what we’re talking about, he always aces the exams, and the professor never seems the least bit miffed at this boy who just randomly disappears for days at a time. It’s not like I was losing sleep over this or anything, but it did bother me that I was busting my butt trying to make it to every class and pay attention and take notes and I still wasn’t making the same grades that this slacker was. I needed to know what his secret was. Well, one day I just decided that enough was enough, and I approached him. The following conversation transpired:
“Seth. Dude. Where do you go all the time?” I queried, sincerely bewildered by my classmate. He laughed at my puzzled expression, which only made me more persistent. “Where?!” I demanded. “And why do you seem to never miss a beat?” With a smile, he nodded toward a tape recorder that sat on his desk. “Well,” he said, “as far as the never missing a beat question, it’s a simple answer. Whenever I have to miss a class, I pop in to the classroom earlier in the morning and leave this in the corner. And then I read the chapters that we covered in class to reinforce the information. I study a lot. That’s why I never miss a beat.” “Okay, I guess that’s not as weird as I thought,” I consented. “But why are you never in class? And why doesn’t Dr. Callaghan care?” “Well, I spoke with her at the beginning of the semester and we worked out a deal. I let her know that I would have to miss classes frequently but that I could guarantee that I would come when I could and always do well on the tests. She agreed that if I was comfortable with less class time than the rest of the students, she didn’t mind me missing classes with a good reason.” I was getting really impatient at this point. “And that reason is……??” “I play at funerals.” “What?” I asked, having expected him to have a much more lame excuse. “I have to do gigs to pay for school, and since I’m an organist, the best way for me to do this is by getting into a circuit of local churches and offering my services for funerals.” “And you play at that many funerals?” I asked, trying to remember how many classes he had missed. “Yeah, people die a lot,” he said. “Which is awful, of course. It’s a pretty depressing job. And I’d much rather be in class with the rest of you guys. But it’s getting me through college. Listen, I gotta run. See ya Tuesday.”
He left me with that, and I thought about it for a little while before heading out myself. The moral of the story? If I had to specify one, I’d say it’s that if you set your mind to accomplish something (like a music degree), you can find a way to do it no matter what your limitations are (financial or otherwise). I really admire that kid’s persistence. He studies a lot more than most of the other people in that class (myself included) and he’s so passionate about his music that he’s schemed up a rigorous schedule for himself that has lasted all semester and is ending with him getting a phenomenal grade in the Music History class, managing to still get a top-notch education, and paying for the opportunity by playing at funerals when he could be joining the other students in extra time to learn.
Kara Nielsen, Editor, www.BandSpace.Fm
i can vouch for that conversation. lol. what a memory on this girl.
hahaha me too i was there!!