Sickness Evokes Forward Passion, Student Expression

Ethan Barker, Opinion/A&E Editor

Published April 13, 2023

On Jan. 5, 2022, I got sick with COVID.

For the first few days, I felt awful, stuck in bed and feeling disgusting. While I recovered quickly, I still had to stay home from school for a couple days due to the protocols. The 10th of the same month, I yelled downstairs to my mom.

“Hey, do you still have that old guitar?”

The best bored decision of my life. Little did I know that those few words would spark my newest hobby, and something I’ll likely stick with for a long time. While I was, to put it mildly, really bad when I started, I persisted through the challenges and the struggles.

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At the very beginning of my journey, I decided I wanted to teach myself to play. Alongside the main issue of my crowded schedule due to sports and homework, I knew that learning the songs I wanted to learn at my own pace would be better for me in the long run. I have a wide variety of musical tastes, so playing the songs I wanted and developing my own style of playing is very important to me. Teaching myself has helped me a lot. While I may not have progressed as fast as others, it has taught me to be more persistent and to forge my own path in all things. Playing songs that challenge me, whether it’s a tough down picked riff or a precise string bend in a solo, teaches me new skills.

Playing guitar is a highlight of my day. It helps me to de-stress, to relax and to escape to a better place with the music I create. I’ve lost countless hours practicing new songs, learning about guitar history, browsing websites for interviews with my favorite players, and going to various music stores to play guitars I can’t afford through amps that I also can’t afford. The feeling I get from strumming a few simple chords or running through some of my favorite riffs calms me down, especially if I have had a tough day at school.

My point here is that no matter how bad something might be, you should look for the good side. I believe that you can always pull at least one positive experience from any negatives, even if the negative is something as small as being stuck at home for a few days.

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About the Contributor

Ethan Barker, ACE Editor

Ethan Barker is the ACE (Arts, Culture and Entertainment) Editor for the Viking Vanguard student newspaper at Puyallup High School. This year, which will be his second with the Vanguard and his junior year of high school, he hopes to improve his interviewing skills and work with the editorial team to investigate issues facing students. He consistently turns out reviews of blockbuster movies and shows, along with feature stories that focus on unique people and places. In addition to these, he enjoys playing guitar, swimming for PHS and his club team and reading the closest book he can get his hands on.