what happens when you don't talk for a day

As I've probably said a million times on here before, I’m generally considered a loud person. As I explained to my friend Cris, it’s not exactly that I’m loud (although I am), it’s more that I’m just constantly spewing a stream of noise. If I’m not talking, I’m trying to talk, and if I’m not doing that I’m singing. This year, I decided that I would participate in GLSEN’s Day of Silence. For those who don’t know, Day of Silence is a day on which students all over the nation are invited to take a vow of silence to shed light on the silence faced by LGBT+ youth due to harassment and oppression.

I honestly thought it would be one of the hardest things I would ever do. Truthfully, I couldn’t think of anything that would classify as being more difficult than that. This was in part because I didn’t think very hard about difficult past experiences, but also because I am ‘a talker.’ I emailed all of my teachers beforehand, and I also had two little cards explaining my silence, one in both English and one in Spanish.

the card

I got off to a strong start. I didn’t talk to my mom in the morning, but we both know a little bit of American Sign Language so that wasn’t a problem. I just showed the card to everyone I talked to that day and they understood. I only got positive responses, which was a huge surprise. I have extremely accepting friends who would never say anything truthfully homophobic, transphobic, or generally offensive, so I wasn’t surprised in that regard. However, many people in my high school’s Gay-Straight Alliance who had previously participated in Day of Silence said that they couldn’t make it through the whole day because of the comments to which they felt the need to respond. Therefore, I was ecstatic at the responses I received, which were all along the lines of either curiosity, expressing that they were proud of me for participating, or just flat-out supportive.

I only had a few slip-ups, which was also a bit of a surprise to me. I talked a little bit during science, as we had a substitute teacher and I was working with others. Other than that, and when I exclaimed “ew!” at someone saying their chips tasted like something which I honestly can’t remember at the moment, I made it all the way through the school day and the bus-ride home without a peep.

My awesome lip tattoo and super comfy GSA shirt.

All along I had been planning to only do it during school, therefore I completely broke the vow when I walked in the door of my house. The way I see it, the point is to raise awareness (as well as of course experiencing the silence yourself). When you’re home alone with no one else to “hear” that silence, what’s the real reason to stay silent? Reede was also having her birthday party that day and I didn’t really want to not talk the whole time.

All in all, Day of Silence was definitely a success for me. I heard from some friends that also participated that they did get some annoying comments, but the response I got was 100% positive. For anyone considering participating in the future, I would definitely recommend it, as it was a super awesome experience and it's a really great way to raise awareness for the silence that LGBTQIA+ kids are forced into on a daily basis.

Ttfn,

Names are a box

(Btw, if you haven’t picked up on the names are a box thing, watch my TEDx Talk (I’ll link it whenever I perform it and get the video, so this "explanation" isn't actually helpful. Sorry (not really).).

a prank for people who don't want to be too mean

As stated on this page, I love to make a ruckus with my keyboard. I take piano lessons now, but one of my only regrets is quitting piano in the second grade. I don’t remember why I started playing piano originally. It wasn’t because my parents told me to, or because my friends thought it was fun, or even because I genuinely thought it would be a good skill to have. I have no idea. Well, I actually do vaguely remember thinking that it would be cool to play songs by Taylor Swift.

Regardless, I began taking piano lessons at my house from the music teacher at one of the public elementary schools. I also wanted to learn how to play the flute. Although now this has almost no appeal to me, it was something that I really thought was important that I do. My teacher suggested that I learn to play the recorder first, as sort of a “gateway instrument” to the flute. Thus, I started taking lessons, dedicating half the allotted time piano, half to recorder. Slowly, my interest in piano ebbed away as I realized that I was playing Mary Had a Little Lamb, not You Belong With Me. Recorder edged piano out of my lessons, and I finally stopped playing piano altogether. Recently-ish, around the beginning of this school year, I started playing piano again. My friend is hardcore amazing at piano, and I kind of couldn’t live with the fact that I didn’t know how to play.

Mini life lesson: If you can’t live without doing something, do it.

I started taking voice lessons at the same time as piano, so I now do half-piano, half-voice lessons. This time, though, I really enjoy both piano and voice, so I don’t think I’ll end up quitting either one.

I love being able to play piano. Even though I’m not Beethoven quite yet, it’s still one of my favorite things to do. There are pianos in the band room in my school, as well as the drama room, so sometimes I’ll just randomly play the piano between classes and at lunch. It’s good to have a few actual songs memorized, because Heart and Soul can only be a masterpiece so many times. Speaking of which, Heart and Soul:

Heart and Soul in and of itself is one of my favorite pastimes. (If you are unfamiliar, skip to the video at the bottom.) More specifically, translating Heart and Soul into every key possible is one of my favorite pastimes. Let me preface this with the fact that I am not a person who loves pranks. Despite this, I love to play Heart and Soul in the key of A major. You may be very confused, and this is completely rational. How is that a prank, double question mark, you may ask.

Allow me to explain. Most people don’t automatically know what key a song is being played in upon hearing it. I’m sure there are some people who can, but the majority of the people I know don’t have that ability. Anyway, for those who don’t know, Heart and Soul is usually played in the key of C major. Therefore, if the bottom chords are being played in A major, pianist number two is expecting to join in with the melody in the key of C. When they do so, however, it sounds horrible and screwed up when the background is being played in A, and the melody chimes in, plunked out in C. It’s a really fun thing to do, and I highly suggest playing Heart and Soul in the key of A major. 

In order, the fingering for the chords for Heart and Soul in A major go as follows (keys to play with pink lines):

Original image from here.

You can play it any way you like, but here’s an example video:

Have fun screwing people up! I know I do, and remember: you’re doing no harm, so this prank is okay.

Cheers, and I hope this post made some sort of sense so that you can revel in your own piano playing glory.

xx Names are a box

two things that keep a lot of people sane: friends and music

What I’ve come to realize in the past year is that you don’t need one best friend. If you have one, that’s fantastic. If you don’t, that’s also fantastic. All you need are people that understand you and love you for being the weird person you are. Expecting to have one single best friend at all times is an unrealistic expectation to which to hold yourself, and it does you no good. Do what you do to make you happy, but don’t go searching or picking people to be your BFFL because you feel like that’s the only way to go about life.

As I see it, there is very rarely going to be one person that fulfills all of your friendship needs (don’t get out your pitchforks quite yet, there are exceptions). Similarly, it’s rare that you’ll find one song that you can listen to in any mood.

Backing up a tad: absolutely everyone in my friend family is writing blog posts about us. We call ourselves “Squad,” which seems super annoying and I like to think that we’re being ironic, but honestly it’s more of a title than anything else. We’re a ragtag volunteer army in need of a shower. (Just kidding, none of those descriptors are accurate.) We’re a pretty weird cake-mix group of private school chicks, a Californian, guys who fight other people for leisure, and this other kid whose hair is made of gold.

We're not the Breakfast Club but here's a picture anyway. (photo credit)

Everyone else did cute little lists of “what everyone is” (i.e. book characters, music notes, etc.), and as the official squad Educator on Real Music and Other Important Things Such As Weird Sports Interview Videos, I thought it would be fitting to give everyone a song (or four). So, without further adieu, here is Squad + other friendlies as songs (a.k.a. The Playlist Based on People I Like, As Referred to by Their Secret Names That Aren’t Really Secret, As Well As One Sentence First Impressions Because That Adds Interest):

Goldilocks - Who is this kid that everyone is talking about?

      Dancing Through Life - Norbert Leo Butz (Wicked)

      Electric Feel - Brooke Adee (cover)

      Ghost (1 Mic, 1 Take) - Halsey

      Jenny from the Block (Track Masters Remix featuring Styles & Jadakiss) - Jennifer Lopez, Jadakiss & Styles P

Bub - That guy is cool-looking.

      Alphabet Boy - Melanie Martinez

      Ribs - LORDE

      Swim Good - Frank Ocean

      El Perdón - Nicky Jam & Enrique Iglesias

Papaya (a.k.a. The Taller Jew) - She’s the only person that can call me Sam.

      Shiksa Goddess -  Norbert Leo Butz (The Last Five Years) (How ironic.)

      Roll With the Punches - Lenka

      Hermit the Frog - Marina and the Diamonds

      A Higher Place - Adam Levine

La Playa (a.k.a. The Shorter Jew) - Someone told her I was shy?

      Seventeen - Marina and the Diamonds

      It Can’t Be True - 13 Original Broadway Cast

      The Scientist - Holly Henry (cover)

      Secrets - Mary Lamberts

The Oracle - All I remember is doing little children ballet together.

      Milk and Cookies - Melanie Martinez

      Dead Girl Walking (Reprise) - Heathers (Cast)

      Solitaire - Marina and the Diamonds

      Almost - Bowling For Soup

Spanish Professor - This guy is a mute (but actually just doesn’t speak English).

      Cheap Sunglasses - RAC

      Movin’ Out (Anthony’s Song) - Billy Joel

      See Through - Pentatonix

      Ride (layered) - twenty one pilots

Mozart - He plays four billion and a half instruments whoa.

      Everything Else - Jennifer Damiano (Next To Normal)

     Boulevard of Broken Dreams - Green Day

      All That’s Known - Jonathan Groff (Spring Awakening)

      Don’t Wait - Mapei

Oblivious - Whence did this older human come?

      Your Song - Ellie Goulding (cover)

      Can’t Pin Me Down - Marina and the Diamonds

      Headphones - Matt Nathanson (feat. LOLO)

      A Miracle Would Happen - Norbert Leo Butz (The Last Five Years)

The Mind - I’M A FAN.

      Soap - Melanie Martinez

      Obsessions - Marina and the Diamonds

      It Won’t Be Long Now - Karen Olivo (In The Heights)

      Blue - Troye Sivan (feat. Alex Hope)

Rayos - Preschool, good times.

      No Me Diga - In The Heights (Cast)

      Coming Up Roses - Kiera Knightley

      La la Land - Demi Lovato

      Uncharted - Sara Bareilles

Kitten - Baby swimming lessons.

      White Teeth Teens - Lorde

      Future Fantasy - Beckii Cruel

      Who Needs You - The Orwells

      WILD - Troye Sivan

The Guys

      Expressing Yourself - Billy Elliot

The Girls

      Candy Store - Heathers (Cast)

These are super random and seemingly sort of unrelated to these people, but they just fit somehow. I hope you all enjoy your songs, and I hope everyone else enjoys as well!

Ciao xx
Names are a box