How Music Changed My Life

Although I seem to conform to the general population, it wasn’t always that way when I was a child. I never seemed to have friends or play with anyone because I was too afraid that they wouldn’t like me. In junior high I discovered that my music tastes were much different than the average kid. I liked metal and the majority of the kids in my school thought that I was this scary student who worshiped Satan, and there are still some people in high school that continue to think that way. Like Larry, I found that I didn’t worry about what others thought too much and I continued to grow and drift further away from society’s standards.

In “Larry’s Party” by Carol Shields, Larry, the main character finds himself in a new line of work, maze

I attended many concerts, some with a friend but most on my own because I am not yet acquainted with people who have similar tastes as I do. My amazing and supportive mom bought me a piano and an acoustic guitar, not in the same year but I began teaching myself these instruments due to sheer devotion to becoming musically inclined and perhaps find opportunities to use these newfound skills in the near future. Music became a way to fulfill my dreams and to make me an overall happier human being. I feel that if I had never discovered my true love for music that I would be as content with my life as I am now because contrary to what people think, specific genres of music do not define a person, it’s the lyrics in the songs and the message that define a person and their feelings. Identically to Larry’s situation, many people would not think of a maze maker as a job they would want to have but it’s what they make of it and how it contributes to their daily lives.

The short passage from “Larry’s Party” by Carol Shields shows that the character Larry decides to take a large step in his life from a floral shop owner to a maze designer similarly to the decision I made to teach myself music in order to achieve self- fulfillment. I knew that this would change my life and add a little more joy to my life and Larry didn’t. It is important to take risks in order to achieve certain life goals and to create and build the