The following is a student's essay in response to one of Sam's homework assignments. I'm not sure what the assignment was. It could have been something about the Classical Period in music and balance and form. Anyway, this kid's and many of Sam's students' self-expression is much more intense and precise than anything as a teenager I ever said out loud, much less in a school essay.

*****

I simply cannot just make a list of the unbalanced things in my life because my life itself is an unbalanced equation just waiting to get solved. And imagine how difficult it is trying to solve an unbalanced equation when your teacher left you to study on your own without giving you the formula and expects you to solve it.

My life consists of two: my adult life and my teenage/student life. I compared by life to an unbalanced equation because equations are meant to be solved just like life needs to be lived at your best intensity, with your best dreams and with happiness. And when an equation is unbalanced, that makes the process of solving that equation one step longer. Which is the same with my life because instead of only focusing on school, I too have to work to take care of myself and deal with issues that no one my age is supposed to be going through. At this point in my life, I find myself actually balancing the equation that my teacher forces me to solve early without the formula. I truly believe that "what doesn't kill you, in fact, makes you stronger." And with that being said I feel like I can use the rainy weather to create a beautiful day. How could I have had stayed in this mindset without music.

Music is more than words that rhyme with harmony. Music is the reaching of the soul by sounds and words that can't be explained and is meant to keep you in a good place. Certain songs that I listen to that relate to my life or keep me motivated are:

2pac - Dear mama = "Me and my momma had beef. 17 years old kicked me out on the streets." (This song relates to my life, but does not at all motivate me.)

I am very open minded when it comes down to music. I listen to every genre, creating a different mood per genre.