If I were to list my obsessions, the list would have to begin with music. So much of my life is centered around music in one way or another, it is impossible to imagine my life without it. To be more descriptive, it’s not just one genre of music that I am obsessed with. I’m obsessed with music itself, with writing my own music, with playing my own music, with listening to music of all forms shapes and kinds. So why you ask, am I not pursuing music in my degree field… Well that’s more complicated. I still have aspirations to one day become a music therapist (the idea of healing people with what I am most obsessed with seems like a win-win, and it’s amazing how powerful music really is) but the reality I’m not there yet. And I like food, and a roof over my head, and the heads of my family that I’m responsible for. So for the time being I am pursuing a focus which will allow me to both expand into music therapy later, and be able to actually get a job now.
On that note, attempting to create a focus for the final project in this class seems both daunting and yet simple simultaneously. Obviously, I want to do something with music. But I also enjoy watching anime now and again. And I have to have something that I can do research on. Attempting to research about composers of music for anime films and shows so far, has not left me with any insights on angles for a paper. While interesting, and certainly something I will continue to do in my free time, I’m not quite sure that attempting to relate the Asian American experience through such a topic will be effective.
On the other hand, what I could do is bring in another element of my obsessions in the form of history. The history of different forms of music has always been fascinating to me. So the paper about the history of Asian American music seems reasonable, and with this topic, it seems as though I would be able to relay a component of the Asian American experience. No guarantees on anything yet, but my efforts to sort this paper out, have gotten this far.