Last week at the Veterans’ Home I had a lot of fun. The musicians that came were the same ones from last month so it was a little boring but we found a way to have a good time. When I first arrived, the two people I volunteer with and I had some time to kill before the event started so we sat in the lobby and talked with one of the musicians. It was really nice because we all had played instruments before and we were talking about our experiences. It made me realize how much I miss playing in my high school orchestra (I always swore I would never miss that)!
After a while of talking about our pasts it was time for us to go get residents for the event. We ended up in a conversation with a group of men for a good while. One guy told us that his cousin was the original guy that sang “Jingle Bell Rock”! We thought it was really awesome! As much as we enjoyed the conversation, we had things we were supposed to be doing and it was rather hard to get out of the conversation.
As we were leaving to go to another wing of the Veterans’ Home we asked a man if he wanted to come to the show. He looked at us and began to cry. It was really hard for me to watch. It turns out that he was just having a bad day. We ended up convincing him to come listen to the music and he had a good time. It was really nice knowing that we helped cheer him up.
Although we had already heard the show before it was still entertaining. The musician that we talked to before the show brought a really cool guitar. It looked like a shark and had a built in amplifier! It was a really good day at the Veterans’ Home.
Hi Emily!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like so much fun! I played the flute and piccolo in high school and I always swore I would never miss it either! I always get a like nostalgic at Christmas time when I feel like I should be playing a Christmas concert for my parents! :D I am really glad you made that gentleman's day. I was having a really awful week last week and I know that I certainly appreciated every nice smile and every nice comment anyone gave me. I am a firm believer that if you aren't struggling yourself, you should always watch for people who are. I feel like it's a necessity in society regardless of what day and age. I am sure that he enjoyed being with people who made him feel appreciated and loved, regardless of what he had going on. It really sounds to me like you are passionate about the service that you are doing and that you are thoroughly enjoying it! I hope that you continue to make people’s days and I wish you good luck with all your future service work!
Shannon
I completely understand what you mean about missing things you thought you never would. I have never played an instrument but I have been a swimmer my whole life and I haven’t swam since I have been at Purdue, so like three months which is the longest in ten years. I thought I was ready for a break but I actually miss; thankfully I have crew to distract me. It sounds like you had a good time speaking with the musicians which always makes volunteering better. Do you know why the musicians play the same show every time instead of changing it? Regardless, I am glad that the residents still enjoy the performance despite having already heard it. The guitar sounded awesome. That is so sad that the gentleman was having such a bad day that he started crying but I’m so happy that you stuck it out and convinced him to come to the musical performance since it cheered him up. It seems like you are enjoying the Veterans Home and doing a lot of good work for them.
ReplyDeleteShannon, I know EXACTLY what you mean about the Christmas concert! That was always such a big deal in the musical world. That concert is probably what I miss the most. At my school our orchestra teamed up with the percussion section and our Christmas concert sounded beautiful. I like what you said about looking out for someone who is having a bad day. I have never really thought about things like that, that is a good way of putting it!
ReplyDeleteErika, I know where you’re coming from with the swimming thing. I played volleyball since the first grade and it was such an abrupt stop coming here to Purdue. I went to my first Purdue game to watch and it made me want to play so bad! Thankfully my hall got involved in intramurals and I’m actually our team captain! It has been a ton of fun! I wish you girls the best of luck with the rest of your service work! (: