I Hear Voices

I hear voices. That being said, I am not insane nor do I believe in ghosts or spirits.

I just love to listen.

I can hear the music in the deep voice of one of my teachers as he gives his instruction. The pitch of another teacher rises as he tries to make a point over the chattering of students. A wonderfully foreign accent fills the most dry and insipid sciences with explosive flavor. The same voice amuses me to no end as it orders her senior lab-aide about.

The cafeteria is an explosion of sounds and voices. The high-pitched frenzy of a pair of girls fighting, a hushed conversation between lovers, and the general exclamation of people over a poor choice of words can be heard in almost any lunch period. The waterfall of tones and pitches immerses me in a constant stream of sound. Even at my table, not two voices are alike; I will sit and listen, but not just to the words. I listen to the people behind them. It is not what you say, but how you say it that truly makes an impact.

Teachers and lunches aside, chorus is a class of wonders for me. I never can seem to wait for it to come, and when it does, time washes away. On a good day, with a song we enjoy, it is an amazing sound like no other. But oh, on a bad day, all I want to do is bang my head on the piano's ivory keys in frustration at the lack of music we sing. Everything from a heart-wrenching love ballad to a swing version of Santa songs resides in our folders, all with their own feelings that cannot be expressed in mere words and notes. Our voices bring their melodies to life.

Music is so much more than rhythms and pitches. Class is so much more than notes and lectures. Even the simplest conversation is more than a collection of words and meanings.

I hear voices.

Do you?