listening reflections

Heather Kennedy
FND 111
Assignment # 1- Sounds essay

I sit outside my dorm and hear the birds singing sweet, soft melodies. Their songs are soothing, peaceful, and warm my heart. The wind in the trees adds a soft whisper to their songs. While the bugs hum on a sunny day. The song of nature makes me feel refreshed, and calm. The breeze sends a chill down my spine adding to the complexity of the moment. However the road is near by, and the sounds of a few cars buzzing by snap me back into reality, and now all I can hear is peoples laughter and conversation. Their songs fade into the distance. but the friendships going on around me make me joyful and smile.
I sit in a stairwell swoosh, bang, swoosh, bang, the doors are being opened and slamming closed. Thump, thump, thump, the sound of footsteps running up the stairs. People are rushing all around me; everyone has a place to be. The stairwell is stressful and chaotic. But the acoustics are amazing. I hear a coin drop a few floors above ting, ting, ting. The small space makes me feel uptight, and claustrophobic. The constant opening and closing of doors gets annoying. I feel distraught. Yet such a place can be so peaceful when it’s not busy. The silence humming in my ears releases tension in my head making me feel tranquil. It’s a good escape from my daily stresses.
I stand in the pool. There is a buzzing noise. I drown the people out of my mind. I hear splashing. The sounds are therapeutic. People are noisy, but underwater you can’t hear a word. I’m floating, the waters in my ears, everything is muffled, I feel relaxed. Ironically the make shift waves crashing into one another makes me feel at home, I feel happy.