The Story Just Begins

Upon finishing the Soloist I had to accept that this story wouldn't have a happily ever after. Just as Lopez hoped, I wanted Mr. Ayers to be healed from his illness. Although, my wish didn't come true I was able to look at the Nathaniel with new eyes. To most people Nathaniel wouldn't be considered happy but to Mr. Ayers, his life was just fine.

Generally, society decides what things are required to make for a happy life or an American Dream; and throughout America's history people have adjusted their goals to meet society demands. But, Nathaniel proves that you do not have to have a fabulous home and be wealthy to be happy. In all of Nathaniel's poverty, and misfortune he didn't pity himself once-instead he enjoyed what he had in life.

Who's to say that just because someone doesn't function like the majority that they are not capable of being happy. Just because someone is not like us doesn't mean that they have no feelings.

The biggest impact the Soloist had on me was that people cannot change people, but they can be instrumental in that change.

It Takes a Village

Nathaniel Ayers was blessed to have people in his life that cared about his well being. But, as I thought about all of the opportunities he received, even on the streets, "would he received as much help if he didn't have a remarkable gift such as that?" Music has always been his savior.

I was touched to see that Snyder (cellist in Philharmonic Orchestra) was truly touched by Nathaniel, and that he made an effort to help Nathaniel. I was especially impressed by Snyder's patience, kindness, understanding and strength even when Ayers became restless, during their lesson. If Nathaniel didn't have his gift of music he wouldn't have been able to be in contact or have a chance to study with that musical genius.

Looking back on Nathaniel Ayers' childhood and all the pressure supplied by society and by himself, I'm not surprised that he eventually became chemically imbalanced.

Earlier in the book I felt that the disease came upon Nathaniel unexpectedly, but I believe that the disease was like a kettle of boiling water. In his early life the water was just getting warmer, but as he came into a very pressure-oriented environment the fire increased and so did the temperature of the water, until finally he became overloaded.

Through this book, I was able to give a entirely different view and opinion towards mental illness. Prior to Part II, I believed that mental illness was only congenital, but Nathaniel's story proved otherwise.

Nathaniel also proves that anyone can improve as long as there are people who love and care for that person. In most cases it takes more than one person to create change, not only in world issues, but in the lives of people. Nathaniel couldn't have improved with only Lopez's help but he needed the assistance from Lamp, Stuart Robinson and the other people who donated their money and time to help Ayers in his journey to recovery- It takes a village...




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For the Love of Music

I am consistently amazed by the amount of love that Nathaniel Ayers feels for classical music. That music is not only a part of his life but a part of his body. The music is in him and he was his music.

Throughout the book Steve Lopez observes the music is Nathaniel's 'medicine' and 'treatment.' As a reader I can see Ayers' sickness, but, furthermore I can see what impact music was on his composure and how he needed music to live. Without his music Nathaniel would be nothing-he would be empty.

Nathaniel admits that Beethoven is almost like a god to him; and when Steve Lopez was able to invite Nathaniel Ayers to enjoy the rehearsal of the Philharmonic at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Ayers was elated and filled with great joy. Lopez noticed how when Nathaniel was mingling with the musicians and talking about Beethoven how he became a different person.

I can relate to Nathaniel in his music-induced transformation. I love Gospel music- choirs, soloists, ensembles, southern gospel, hip-hop Gospel...basically anything inside of the Gospel genre appeals to me. Gospel music has the power to change how I'm feeling it gives me the strength to endure, and to live right a holy life. Being a Christian is my life and Gospel music is literally the Bible in music form. I love Gospel so much, no other music can compare to it in my eyes. Gospel music is in me and I am Gospel, that is the strongest reason why I can relate to Nathaniel-You can't relate to someone who is in love unless you have been yourself.

What I admire about Nathaniel is that he can still indulge in what he loves, there is still a connection that can never be broken even in his sickness. That type of love can make any mad-man sane. Music is very powerful, and Nathaniel understands that music he would be dead inside. Nathaniel's demon or beast is his sickness; and as Nataniel constantly immerses himself into his music he proves that: music can tame the savage beast.

The Soloist Chapters 1-6

Musicians make music their life. As a result the aspirations of becoming rich and famous pales in comparison. Musicians are a strange breed of people. Music is their life, music is what comes into their mind as soon as they wake up and go to sleep at night. Music is their sustenance and without it they are nothing.

The musicians that make music their life are very brave and strong. I admire musicians that put their future on the line to pursue their dreams and aspirations. Musicians, for the most part, found their passion at a very young age and were able to pursue their love. I consider that fact to be very inspirational and a blessing. Some people go throughout their whole entire lives and never find their love and as a result feel unfulfilled in life; so to find what you love at a young age is a blessing in itself.

The Soloist is a very interesting story that caught my attention when I saw the preview of the Movie with Jamie Foxx. Stories about how people overcome their odds and achieve their goals is very appealing to me. But this story is one with a twist. Nathaniel was a very talented musician who rose to achievement at a time when Blacks were excluded from that profession. But his downfall wasn't because of drugs or irresponsible decisions, but something one may call fate.

I was proud of Nathaniel for his success and willingness to work. Furthermore, I thought of his achievements and interests as unique and different from his peers of that time. Not most teenagers can honestly admit that classical music is their passion and the love of their.


Nathaniel acknowledged the pressure of being a classical musicians and the ignorance he would face just because the color of his skin- Yet he persevered... not so much because of bravery, but because of love.


I felt very disheartened that Nathaniel did all of the right things but Schizophrenia destroyed his life. He could have been playing with his peers at Julliard and had the fame and success that rivaled Yo-Yo Ma, but an uncontrollable force snatched it all away leaving him alone. The pity I was feeling for Nathaniel was tremendous. I know there is nothing you can do to change your mental deficiencies- we cannot cast out our demons we need help.

His story helps me realize what humility is. He did all of the right things and didn't take any shortcuts on his road to success but in the end his life changed...




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The Catcher in the Rye

I feel that the Catcher in the Rye is one of the most unique books I read because it read like a series of thoughts. As Houlden narrated he would give his opinions about things and then go off onto "mental-sidebars" about other topics that related to what he was talking about.

I was easily able to navigate through the book because he went into day-dreams similar to me. I could imagine going off onto a tangent because of one simple thought, and that's exactly what Houlden does throughout the book.

Houlden's constant indulgence in daydreams may have contributed to his mental instability. Houlden was always in la-la land and didn't want to focus on his reality; if he did he wouldn't be flunking out of school. Houlden had an apathetic mind-set and that was apparent throughout the book and at times he was very self- centered. He was only interested in pleasing himself and the feelings of others (such as his parents) was not of much concern to him. But, I believe that everyone has the opportunity to change (good, or bad) and it seems as if Houlden decided to truly change for the better by making himself have optimistic goals for his future


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The Sad Truth

After seeing the the movie/play The Death of a Salesman I saw the sad truth of those times. I'm no doctor but I know that Willy Loman had some type of mental disorder. At one point I observed the Loman family and thought, "Don't they know that he has some type of mental problem?"
But, in the area of metal disabilities, the technology of that time was not advanced. I was looking at the movie as a person of the 21st century, but if I watched the movie during he story's time period I would have a completely different view.

Another key theme that consistently showed itself through the words of Willy Lohman was the issue of being liked. It is human nature to want to be liked, but most people realize that it is impossible to be like by all people. Even more, most people with common sense have come to the realization that sometimes they cannot try to please others and hope that they like you.

Many men have the aspiration to be admired, loved, and have a certain amount of influence and power. Consequently, I can understand Willy's intense desire to be respected and loved. Although, Willy showed extreme selfishness when he cheated on his faithful wife with a common woman. The worst part of the affair was that he gave his mistress gifts that he wouldn't even give to his own wife. His wife stuck with him through richer and poorer. I know that the wife had suspicions that her husband was cheating, but she stuck with him- because of love.

The sons were a direct product of their fathers morals. He often would encourage and delight in the mischief Biff caused because his peers laughed and enjoyed the entertainment. Happy always looked up to his big brother and wanted to please his father. Nevertheless, I believe that Biff probably got some of his strength from his mother. The fact that Biff finally resolved to be brave and decided to try to pursue his dreams, shows his strength.

Willy wanted specific goals for his children, but I believe that he truly loved his sons and wanted the best for them. Similarly, the mother wanted her sons to do great things but she didn't have specific jobs that she wanted her children to do. In other words if her children were happy she would be happy.

The Death of a Salesman is a great story of how life can be a lie when one doesn't pursue one's passion.


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Reflection on Blogging

Over the past seven weeks I was forced to emerge myself into a new type of technology-blogging. At first I was a little reluctant. I was apprehensive to the fact that my work would be read by the any one in the class. For one I knew that some people would cheat off my work, and sometimes I had ideas that I didn't want to share with the class.

Furthermore, when we had to comment on people's work it was no way to keep track on who you commented to and sometimes that would unfairly be reflected in my grades. I grew annoyed trying to remember who I commented on. If there was any way to keep track of who you commented to, that would be of great help. I also think that the posts should be graded on grammar, on sentence organization (basically the syntax of our work). I want the blogs to be graded harder so that we can grow as writers.

Nevertheless, I've come to find that the pros outweigh the cons in this situation. Because I know had the responsibility of blogging, that challenged the quality of work. I felt that because I'm not the only person who is reading the post, I can't publish bad quality work because that would be a reflection on me.

I found that just as blogger can be a means for some people to cheat, blogger can be a great way to discover different perspectives of classmates. When I read some of the posts I found that a lot of people in my class are great writers. From my classmates posts I saw what worked for them and how I could apply what they did to better my work. Additionally, I learned how to correctly comment on posts; I used to just say 'good job' and leave it at that. Now I learned how to look into people's work and see how they can improve their work. That helped me as a writer because many of the corrections I saw were things that I did.