Soundtrack of My Life

Jessica Andrews, “Who I Am:” This song has so many different meanings that it is difficult to pinpoint them all on the dot. The old pictures and videos that flash on the screen at the beginning of the video takes the audience back to before Jessica Andrews was a famous singer. She is saying that no matter what happens, she knows who she is and where she came from, and that is how this video relates to me. By looking at old memorabilia like Jessica Andrews does in her video, I look at where I’ve came since I was younger. Like Jessica Andrews, I, too care deeply about my family and friends. She explains that she is Rosemary’s granddaughter; well, I am Norma Jeane’s granddaughter. While I may not be a spitting image of my father, my mom is my biggest fan, just as she sings in “Who I Am.” Family will always be there for her, and me, and no matter what happens, they will always be there for me. “It’s all a part of me; that’s who I am.” That phrase is the most important part of the song. This country music video has a lot of key visual elements, as well. As said before, the old pictures and videos are showing that she is looking back on her past, and pictures mean a lot to me when I am doing this, as well.




Zac Brown Band, “Chicken Fried:” This is a song about being thankful. At the beginning and end of the video, you see a man in a military uniform. Because people in the military fight for our country, we can like whatever we want, and that is what the Zac Brown Band is singing about. The images in the video of people in the military can be thought of being the bread on the sandwich. The inside of the sandwich is filled with what the members of Zac Brown Band are thankful for. Like they say, they’re most thankful for their country lifestyle. This lifestyle is similar to what I was used to when I lived at home. When they say “It’s not where you live or what you drive,” that is how I see possessions, too. Whether someone drives a brand new car or an old, beat up pickup, it is all the same to me. Another important lyric is when it says, “Ain’t it funny how the little things in life can mean the most.” This is another critical moment in the song. So many people take things for granted, but the according to this song, the members of the band are even thankful for pie. The way that the people in this video gather together and talk is so pleasant. Just like in a small town like the one I lived, everyone knows everyone. When it comes to events, everyone brings food and beverages to share with others.



Kid Rock, “All Summer Long.” A few drinks, a boat, the lake, what else could someone ask for? In this video, Kid Rock is seen just soaking up some rays and enjoying his summer. By riding around in a boat, basking in the rays of sunshine, Kid Rock is singing about the perfect summer. The lake is the perfect setting for this song. The music in the background is that of the song entitled “Sweet Home Alabama.” When I hear that song, it instantly makes me think of street dances from towns around my area. That song just rings “summertime.” Just like Kid Rock, I, too like to spend time in the summer at the lake. The boat that he rides in is a little more outdated than the one I ride in. It is my friend’s boat, and it is easy to spend hours on the lake at a time. The way the boat glides across the water as he sings is just like the peace of knowing that it is summer. The girls in the video are all dancing and having a good time, and that is what summer is all about: having a good time. The sight of the characters in the video gathering around a camp fire brings that smell to my nose. Roasting marshmallows and hotdogs by the fire is something my friend and I always do together; it is practically a tradition for anyone who goes camping. Camping just gives a reason to relax and enjoy nature.


Taylor Swift, “Love Story:” As the video begins, Taylor Swift is just a normal, average girl. She then begins to go off into a daze. She visions and sings about every girl’s dream of castles, princes, and princes. Most importantly, her song is about a love story, just like the title suggests. As the camera moves along the scenery and shows the tall castle, it reminds me of when I was younger when I would dream of those types of fairytale lands. Every girl dreams of her “Romeo” taking her away and saving the day, and that is exactly how I used to envision my future. The way that Taylor Swift carries herself on the dance floor is so graceful. In the days where they wore such elegant dresses and had formal occasions, everyone danced appropriately. Formal dance like that is what I hope to do someday. When I find my “Romeo,” we will learn to dance across ballroom floors just like Taylor Swift did in her video. Elegance and grace fills the room, and that is not easily to come by in today’s society. The only time that I have gotten my hair fixed fancily like hers was for prom, but even then, her dress in the video still has an elegant, old fashioned look to it that none of my dresses ever had. The way the video ends with Taylor coming back to reality is often how I feel after I have been day dreaming about a particular someone or something.

My Hallelujah Song @ Yahoo! Video

Julianne Hough, “My Hallelujah Song:” In the past few years, Julianne Hough has went from being an award winning dancer on the television show Dancing with the Stars to a remarkable country music singer. This song is sort of a tribute to all of her accomplishments. She is only twenty years old, but she sure presents herself as older and has enough confidence to appear more mature than just twenty. The chorus of her song is what I can relate myself to the best. Like Julianne Hough, I cannot believe I am where I am today. There are so many hardships to conquer and problems to deal with it, but I have made it through all of them to get where I am today. Wesleyan just feels like the perfect fit for me. Julianne says that she feels where she belongs, and that is exactly how I feel. Although I am not famous and do not have quite as many prestigious awards as she does, I feel just like she does in this video. Throughout the whole video, she is smiling, and she carries an energy with her. This song is like a tribute to her life up to this point; she is singing her “hallelujah song” to celebrate how happy and content she is in life right now. Singing country music is not very easy, but if I could, I would definitely sing a song similar to this one. Everyone’s hallelujah song is different, and that is why she shows different scenes to represent different moments to celebrate, like a family reuniting and teenagers graduating.



Billy Ray Cyrus, “Ready, Set, Don’t Go:” Billy Ray Cyrus is sitting by himself throughout this entire video. He is shown sitting on a stool, playing his guitar and singing. This is to create a lonely setting. This song is about his daughter growing up and leaving. He knows that it has to happen, but he is not completely ready for it. The normal phrase is “Ready, Set, Go!” However, when Billy Ray Cyrus changed it to “Ready, Set, Don’t Go,” it brought a whole different meaning. When someone one loves is moving on, one thinks that he or she can prepare him- or herself enough to be ready for it, but when it comes down to it, he or she doesn’t want that loved one to move on. Billy Ray states that he has to be strong, so that means that he wants to let her be able to move on. This is similar to when I moved to college. My father was not very happy, and he is not one to show emotion! A song like this is a perfect one to represent a daughter moving out of the house, going to further her education at a college. He says that “she’s gotta do what she’s gotta do,” and that is true for most teenage girls. They have to grown up and do what makes them happy. In this song, Billy Ray is learning how to let go and trust his daughter to make the right decisions in life, and that is what my dad did the day he told me goodbye at Wesleyan.



Rascal Flatts, “Life is a Highway:” This song by the Rascal Flatts was featured in the hit Disney movie Cars. With the use of their guitars, the Rascal Flatts put a fun rock to this song that used to just be an older country song. The fast paced, hip beat to this song helps describe what life is to me. Life is fun, and it should not be taken lightly. People should be thankful for life and live it to its fullest. “Life is a highway; I want to ride it all night long,” is what the chorus says. I want to ride the highway as long as I possibly can, and that is why I try to stay healthy. The Rascal Flatts really have fun doing this video, and I see that as a way people are supposed to live their life. Have fun, and always be thankful for the things in it. The use of the cartoon in the music video captures the child in everyone, and it brings one back to an age where it was okay to dream about racecars and such.

Self analysis

The way I now see myself as a writer has changed dramatically over this course. When I was in high school, I saw myself as a good writer. I didn’t think I was over the top or anything, but I did well on my papers and such. After a few weeks in this class, I viewed myself totally different as a writer. The way my college instructor expected us to write was different than anything I’ve ever had to do. Mr. Ware had us look what we were writing about in a whole different perspective. At first, I felt helpless because writing never used to be that much of a struggle for me; however, as time has moved forward in this class, I feel just a little more confident in how he wants us to write. If I look back at my post from September 11, 2008, entitled “Diagrams,” it is written very differently than my post from December 7, 2008, entitled “Little Bracelet.” The way we progressed through this course changed slowly, but by looking at one of my first posts and my most recent one, one can see how much this class has been taught about looking and writing about objects in many different ways.

My attitude about reading and writing has changed. I now know more about pathos, ethos, and logos, and I can incorporate them into when I am reading a document or listening to a speaker. When I am writing, I know when I should tie those elements into my work. When I am writing about something for this class, I know to look at it in all different directions. We learned to take our subject apart and look at it all aspects of it. Writing like this is more difficult than just writing about an object itself. I can’t say that I like doing it, but that’s mainly just because I don’t feel like it’s a strength of mine.

I liked it when we did peer reviews on each others’ assignments. It helped me because the questions gave me guidelines that helped me write the post. Also, it made me read and judge one of my classmate’s posts, and it made me pick out the good and bad about theirs. Even though the peer reviews may have taken a while to do, I am glad that we did them because it made me think deeper about my own assignment.

Some knowledge that I have applied to places out of the classroom is the terms ethos, pathos, and logos. In the speech class that I am taking, we had to know those terms. It was very helpful when I was already familiar with them. We had to watch a recorded speech and pick those qualities out of it, and because I learned about them in this class, I felt confident in my answers.

An area that I’m still working on as a writer is the fact of not writing in a narrative view. Writing a narrative is much easier than what we are supposed to be doing, writing through an object and connecting it with other related objects. I try do this, but I think I still try to find a way to be narrative about my subjects, just because that is what comes naturally to me. In my next and last assignment, I will have to work on this tremendously, and hopefully finish this course successfully.

Little Bracelet

It sits on my desk, aside from my other jewelry. The bracelet that my Aunt Linda gave me for my thirteenth birthday means the world to me. Since she does not live close by, she sent it to me in the mail that special day. The sight of that little box wrapped in a brown paper bag still lurks in my memory. After I opened the package, the bracelet was on my wrist in a flash.



The red, green, and brown beads picked up different colors in the light as I twirled my wrist a little. The silver beads in between the colored ones shined for me to gaze at. This bracelet was unlike any bracelet I had owned before. Other bracelets were from stores of lesser value, like Claire’s, but not this one. I was not sure where this bracelet was from, but I was certain that it was not from a store like Claire’s. The way I felt when I wore that bracelet was different. Once I put on that red, green, brown, and silver bracelet, I felt like more of an adult. No longer did I feel like the rest of my friends who were wearing plastic bead bracelets or necklaces because I had a nice bracelet.

The face that it made me feel older could have been because my Aunt Linda had one similar to it. Hers was much nicer, of course, but at that time, I thought they were of the same value. It gave me pride to know that I had jewelry like my aunt, a grown-up woman. I still have that bracelet. The beads are not quite as glittery in the light, and some of the silver somehow specked off. However, no matter what it looks like, it will always make me feel like a grownup while I am wearing it.

Shirt Doll

One item that is very important in my life is the doll that my Grandma Sorensen made for me out of my grandpa’s old button-up shirt. “I think you’re old enough for this now,” she said to me on my thirteenth birthday. She made one for all of her granddaughters when she knew they were at an age where they would not play with it and ruin it. Because my grandpa has not been with us since I was two-years-old, this meant a lot to me to have something to remember him by.

My doll’s body is made of white cloth, stuffed to a plump, and it is wearing a dress out of my grandpa’s shirt. The white material of his shirt has dark pinstripes aligning in a vertical fashion, which adds a sense of elegance to the doll. The bottom of the dress is long and covers her white legs and feet. Around the edge of bottom, it is lined with white lace. She has no face, for her head is, too, made of the white material. A bonnet made of the same shirt material covered the top of the doll’s head; it looks like a old-fashioned bonnet like they would have worn in the olden-days.

This doll is my connection to not only my grandpa, but also my grandma. The material on the doll makes me feel closer to my grandpa, knowing that I have something that once belonged to him. The doll itself resembles my grandma’s notorious sewing ability and consistency in always thinking of others. Because she is no longer able to sew, it brings tears to my at the thought of her being incapable of creating such magnificent masterpieces such as that shirt doll.

My Object

It started out as an “in case of an emergency” type of possession. I was mainly to use it if I needed anything on my way to or from school, which was a fifteen-mile drive. My sixteenth birthday hadn’t come yet, and that’s when I was supposed to get it, but since I drove to school when I was fourteen, I was an exception. My cell phone has been with me through thick and thin, and it is very important to me.

Its age is starting to show. Come January, it will have been two years since my dad brought it home in a square box with a picture of my new Motorola Razr on the side. Its dark grey appearance cannot hide any of its scratches from the countless times I have dropped it. The scratches show up as black and silver outlines emphasizing the edges of my phone. When one looks at the front screen, the first thing brought to attention is the cracked screen; I guess that’s what I get for accidently stepping on it. No matter what it looks like, I am still thankful that is has been faithful to me over the past nearly two years.

My phone reveals a key to my world. When I was younger, it was mainly my lifeline in times of need, but now, it is my tool to keep in touch with friends and family. Now that I am older, it helps me communicate with loved ones who live far away and even nearby. Without my phone, I would be lost.

As the two-year mark approaches, I wonder if my phone will make it much longer. I could get a new phone, but I know that parting with this gray, beat up Razr will be more difficult than I anticipate.