BLINDNESS By: Kilok Zhang

Chapter 1

DARKNESS

When I was seven years old, I had a high fever at night and my eyes went blind. I was depressed because my world had lost its color, and I had to accept that fact. As for my love of painting, this event has a huge impact on my dream and I got to a point that I have no choice but to give up painting. I felt as my life had lost its purpose. After this incident, I began to refuse to communicate with anyone and liked to be alone, which also caused my personality to become withdrawn.

Since childhood, I have been interested in painting. In terms of color, I have a certain talent. When I was seven years old, MY eyes went blind, and I began to wonder if there was any point in living without seeing light or the beauty of the world. I continued to instill faith and hope in myself. But the reality is still bad, I began to choose to give up the one thing I love doing the most. Of course!  I was depressed.  I had no direction in my life.

In my primary school, I did not have much contact with the outside world. For personal reasons, I don’t want to face my classmates. Different governesses accompany me all the way to high school. During this period, I did not have any interest. My daily routine consists of  listening to music, and feeling the refreshing evening breeze blowing on my face . For a while, I suspected that I had advanced into old age. I don’t have any vision for my future life.

Chapter 2

TEACHER

But then I met someone who mean a lot to me. My teacher! She is a strict but a careful teacher. She changes my life. The first time we met, it was all in a rush. I didn’t really want to communicate with the teacher. I thought she was stuffy and strange. That’s why I reject her and also, she kept asking me strange questions, “Do you like music?”

Once, I met her in a park near my home. She sang beautifully a song . I want to listen to this beautiful melody, so I stood closer to the direction of her voice. She seemed to notice me. She asked me again if I was interested in music. I did not answer. Instead, I quickly walked away from her and back to my home.

Chapter 3

MUSIC, MY LIFE

I started to waver, because I really like music too, or I wouldn't be listening to songs at night. I thought for a lot long. Eyes can affect my sense of visual color, but they do not affect my sense of hearing or my emotional response to music. I figured it out, I think. Then I plucked up the courage to ask my mother for the teacher's home address, and said I wanted to learn music with her. My mother was excited too, because it meant that I was finally willing to accept anything other than painting.

Accompanied by my mother, I arrived at my teacher’s door, but I am scared to knock. So for a long time, I just stood there. I refused her twice. Why should I go back to her? I asked myself. My sense of pride kicked in.

 My mother seemed to see that I was hesitant. At this time,  a dog barking loudly inside the door and, I was petrified. The teacher seemed to sense that there was someone outside, and then she opened the door.

Inside the house, there was a fluffy little animal leaning against my leg. The teacher told me it was a white Samoyed with a lovely smile, and I thought it would be great if I could see its angelic smile. I walked to the living room with my mother’s help and sat down. The teacher didn’t talk a lot and didn’t make me feel bad about what had happened. She just gently told me that music can warm people’s hearts. And made an appointment with me for class. Just like that, I was going to start learning music, suddenly and unexpectedly.

Chapter 4

FALLING IN LOVE

After taking classes for a period of time, I found that music can be diverse and interesting, and I began to fall in love with music. Although practicing is hard, but for my love, I think it is worth it.

My relationship with my teacher began to improve, and my impression of her changed. I think she is a gentle and friendly teacher who is patient with everything. Oftentimes, she would help me and enlighten me, let me become more and more confident. The most important thing is that she has a very high level of music knowledge and expertise and that she teaches me very well.

Even so, once she is angry, because I didn’t review what I learned, but I didn’t admit my mistakes either. She slammed the door and left. I stood there for a while. After I recovered my thoughts, I began to reflect. Without her enlightenment, I would not have loved music and would not have turned it into a my inspiration. After this, I worked harder. Because of my eyes, I had to pay more efforts than others to complete this subject.

Chapter 5

MUSIC THERAPY

I got accepted to my favorite music school, but I was faced with a more difficult choice. I like music, but I don't know what I  would want to do in the future- my future.

One day, I was sitting on the sofa reading a book about choosing a subject. By chance, I found out about a not so popular subject which is Music Therapy. I am particularly interested in it and began to understand the knowledge of Music Therapy. Music Therapy belongs to Psychology and has used music to heal more people. My teacher helped me a lot, and I thought I would also help more people to find their interests and realize their dreams.

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