Rough Draft

1. John Mayer, “Daughters”

This simple video features Mayer playing his guitar and singing the lyrics in a dark room shown in black and white. The image of a beautiful but melancholy woman also flash across the screen. This video is simple and does not distract from the beauty of the lyrics of this song. I like this song because of the message that Mayer is trying to send., reminding people of the importance of relationships and the lasting affects that they can have on a person, especially relationships with your parents.
I am fortunate enough to have a very good relationship with both of my parents, especially my mother. She is very important to me and I know that my life would be so much different if our relationship was not as strong as it is. The line “Girls become lovers, who turn into mothers/ so mothers, be good to your daughters too” is one of the most striking in the song. My relationship with my mother will shape the relationship that I will have with my daughters when I have children. I want to be as important to my children as my parents are to me and my siblings.
My mother is someone that I can always turn to no matter what and I will trust her advice. She is the leader of our family and has the strength to hold our family together and keep us close.

2. Nsync, “Gone”:

This video reminds me of my first ever concert. During middle school my two best friends were obsessed with Nsync, I liked them too, but I was not that interested in them. My friends mothers decided to surprise them with a trip to Kansas City to see their concert at Arrowhead Stadium, they also bought me a ticket so I ended up getting dragged along. But I really ended up having a lot of fun. The night before we left we stayed up the whole night making posters for our favorite band members and chatting excitedly about our favorite songs.
My sign was probably the ugliest thing I could have created, but I think it is still in my attic somewhere, tucked away as a memory of our little adventure. I painted the entire background electric blue and glued a huge picture of Justin Timberlake on one side, surrounded by glitter. Over the picture in neon yellow was a ridiculous message, probably something like “I love you Justin” or “You rock Justin.” Having completed our signs, we left them to dry and got a couple hours of sleep. In the morning we jumped into the car and played games and chatted throughout the three hour trip. We got to the stadium and bought some souvenirs then headed to our sits. Just as the concert was about to start I unrolled my poster, only to find that the paint was not fully dry and had gotten all over the picture of Justin. I was a little disappointed after all my hard work, but it did not really matter, I doubt Justin could see my poster anyways.


3. The Coors, “At your side”:

This song was my class song during high school. We first picked this song during Sophomore year. It was sung after every class play with pride. The first time we sang it together was after our Sophomore Talent Show. Our voices were a little shaky because we had not practiced that much, but it did not matter, we just belted out the words and hoped they were right. The next time we sang our class song our voices were strong and we knew all the words. It was after P.A., the traditional play put on by the junior class to announce the location and date of prom as well as the theme and colors to the seniors. Our play was Footloose and it was the best P.A. I watched in my four years at Mercy and we were so proud of our play and that we kept the secret of prom from the seniors.
When we next sang this song our voices where once again shaky and uncertain, like when we had first sang together as a class. It was not because we did not know the words but because we could not get them out through the tears. It was Farewell Day and it was the last time we would be together as a class besides graduation. Nearly the entire class was crying after our final play, a production which summed up our four years at Mercy, including our Sophomore Talent Show and P.A.. I was lucky enough to go to a high school where I had a lot of fun and was close to both my classmates and the teachers and this song reminds me of all of the good memories I have from that time.


4. Michael Buble, “Home” :

This song reminds me of my home and how important my family is to me. I came from a large family and I have always been close to my parents and siblings, especially my sisters. My older sister is probably my best friends, she was definitely my first friends. I can remember getting into so much trouble with her when we were younger or fighting with her, but we always ended up just as close as before the fight. It is the same today. I spend a lot of time with Katy and with my two sisters in high school, Becky and Amy. We like to go to the movies together, go shopping or play soccer together. We are all so similar that we always have fun when we are together, but we also end up fighting each other sometimes too. Usually we fight about something stupid but we can only stay made at each other for a few minutes, then we will be back laughing and joking. Whenever I here this song it reminds me of home and how much I enjoy spending time at home with my family.


5. Forever in Motion, “Hot Air Balloon”:

The lyrics of this song describe a hot air balloon, lifting you away from your problems and setting you free. This is the feeling that hot air balloons used to give me. When I was younger, every year my family would travel to the Aksarben area in Omaha to watch the annual balloon show. Our day started early in the morning because the balloons would take off just after sunrise. We picked up donuts and juice and eat as we watched dozens of massive, Technicolor balloons majestically rise from the ground. I have not been able to ride in a hot air balloon, but this experience gave me a feeling similar to that described in the song. It was so much fun to be able to spend the morning together as a family and just take time off to enjoy watching something so simple and beautiful.


6. Fort Minor, “Remember the Name”:

“This is ten percent luck, twenty percent skill/Fifteen percent concentrated power of will/Five percent pleasure, fifty percent pain/And a hundred percent reason to remember the name!” These lyrics embody this past soccer season and my first season playing for Nebraska Wesleyan. I have been playing soccer for 15 years, that is longer than I have like almost anything else. Soccer is such a huge part of my life. If I am not playing soccer, I am probably watching soccer or reading the latest news about my favorite teams. This past season was one of the best seasons I have ever had, not be cause we were a great team, we did not win very many games, but because it was a lot of fun.