“There’s music for my every mood
First place $50
Flor Daniela Anaya, 16, South Gate HS
“I’m home!” I yell to my mother who’s in the kitchen. I don’t wait for a reply. I head straight to my room and pop my U2 CD and blast it. Actually I just turn it up a little because I don’t want my mom coming in and telling me to turn it down. I had one of those days. You know, those days where you wish you hadn’t gone to school at all because everything seemed to go wrong. I forgot my homework and with that my extra credit work which would bring my grade significantly higher in Physics. I had a major word fight with my best friend and I can’t seem to get that guy to pay attention to me—sigh. “…run away run away…” U2 knows how I feel. Ugh! Mom’s calling me. Hold on.
I’m back. She bought me a bracelet! The one I saw in the mall! No more U2, let me pop in “Getting Jiggy With It.” There you go. “…getting jiggy with it, na na na na na…” Hey bro! Come dance with me. No? Fine! Na na na—wait! I have homework! Why am I dancing? Okay. ‘Bye Will, hello Mozart. For all of you out there who don’t believe that classical music helps you do your homework—better start believing it! It’s so relaxing! Okay, now shh, let me concentrate.
Done! I’m happy, I’m happy! Let me dance some more! Let me see… What is the station for Power 106? Oh! Duh! Okay. “…insane in the brain!…” La la la. No worries…
Oooh… I just remembered! Why did I have to remind myself??? Dumb unconscious! Always sneaking up on me! You are supposed to be asleep, that is why you are called “unconscious”! Guess what? I can’t seem to get the guy to look at me! He’s so cute! Ugh but he’s stupid too. If you can’t see that we’re meant for each other then forget you!!! YOU! But… maybe there’s something wrong with me. No! C’mon everybody, sing with me; “…at first I was afraid, I was petrified… I will survive! Oh, as long as I know how to love I know I’m still alive—” oops! Sorry mom, I’ll turn it down. Okay, you know what? He’s not worth my time.
How am I going to make up with my friend? Let me listen to Caifanes. They always get me in the “thinking” mood. “estoy tan enamorado de la negra tomasa…” I got it! I’ll just apologize. It was my fault after all. Cool. One less problem. Now I’m going to dance a little more.
Oooh… I have to read. Hellooooo Beethoven!
Oh wow! I can’t believe it’s 11:00 already! I have to sleep now or else I’m not going to want to get up tomorrow morning! But first—let me check to see if there’s anything good on KROQ. Hmm. Nope, commercials.
Well, good night.
Music’s like a gentle breeze
Second Place $30
Michelle Perdon, 15, Eagle Rock HS
Have you ever been through an “Aneurysm” or may have been “Silent All These Years”? “No Doubt” that I have. I once built “My Own Prison” and had the “Perfect Drug.” “I had visions I was in them, I was looking into the mirror, to see a little bit clearer, the rottenness and evil in me.”
Have you ever been in a “Downward Spiral” or perhaps been a “Creep”? I know that people sometimes go the “Wrong Way.” Do you sometimes have a hard time getting up on “Sunday Morning”?
Music is a way of expressing one’s self, telling us of someone’s past experiences. It’s also entertainment. Music is like a gentle breeze that goes into our ears and stimulates our thoughts. Sometimes when you feel alone or depressed, music will take your mind off of it. It makes us feel like we’re not alone. There are lots of songs I can relate to, when I’m feeling up or feeling down. It keeps me company. Music is not only about dancing and gettin’ the groove on, it’s about the facts of life. We all sometimes play “Foolish Games” and cry out, “Mother, Mother.”
Music does not have to influence people. A person becomes a gang member because he or she chooses to. A person smokes crack because of peer pressure, seeking a sense of belonging. People commit suicide because they refuse to deal with the minor problems or because they are too lazy to face their fears to the point where it eats them up whole.
All types of music are cool. Yes, I hate to say it—even country music. I guess country is cool because in one point in life we all will experience an “Achy Breaky Heart.” Classical music isn’t that bad either. Without classical music, we would have never gotten the dramatic feel for the movie “Titanic.” We would not have felt the hot passionate kiss that Leonardo DiCaprio gave Kate Winslet or the eerie feeling we had when we saw the sunken ship. Without music there would be no sound effects. Without music, the movies would be boring.
Without music, we’d all be lost. It would totally be a different world. A world without music is like saying that you can’t “Breathe” air. A world without music is like staring into a blank television for hours. A world without music is like having a lifeless body.
*All quotation marks are songs or band groups.
Don’t blame rap
for this ugly world
Third Place $20
Cristina Jurado, 16, El Monte High School
Drive-bys, suicides, homicides—everyday things in Los Angeles. Why do many people blame rappers or gangsta rappers for these things?
“Blame me for the outcome/
playing my record/
check it/
don’t have to bump it but please respect it.”
The music I connect to is R&B and hip-hop. I can’t live without this music. It has helped me value life even more. You never know when you’re gonna be here, and when you’re gonna be gone. But at the same time you understand that many people have been through it.
Rappers rap about what they go through. It’s like giving us news. You don’t go out after seeing the news and try to do the same things you saw. It’s also like one of your friends telling you an experience he went through. He doesn’t tell us so we can go do it. He tells us so we won’t do it, so we won’t have to go through the same thing he went through. If we don’t listen, it’s not their fault. They warned us.
Sometimes they rap inconsiderate things but that’s all people wanna hear. People don’t wanna hear the good, like encouraging guys to respect women, to take care of their kids and to stop the violence. You might be saying, “No, that’s what they rap about.” That’s true. Rappers might encourage those things but they’re human. They have feelings about different views. The only difference is that they’re in the public eye so we can see and hear whenever they make a mistake. It’s not their responsibility to be our role models.
Many want to change their gangsta way of life, but keep thinking:
“ain’t no future right for me/
I’m stuck in the game.”
We shouldn’t blame others, especially rappers for all the trash out here. We need to remember that everyone is responsible for their own actions and their own feelings.
As Tupac Shakur once said, “I’m not saying I’m gonna rule the world… I guarantee that I’ll spark the brain that will change the world and that’s our job… if we keep talkin’ about how dirty it is, somebody’s gonna clean it up.””