Life is What You Make It
Marie Widmeier
9/23/3013
Professor Paige Constantino
Life Is What You Make It The sound of music often serves as the backdrop of almost everything in life, where certain songs resonate bittersweet memories. As I express my feelings through music, it is evident that some songs hold much more meaning. We can all believe in a song to express our feelings, and that’s how I experienced and processed many of life’s changes. Some were sad and others were happy; in the end, I found that all I have to worry about is today. To dream of success is typical for me. As a young, unwed mother, I decided that I needed a career which would give me monetary success in order to raise my son. I graduated from Paralegal school in 1998, and landed a prestigious position in my first law firm. Feeling in my moment and on top of the world, I would sing, “Tell me how you feel about this – who would I want, if I wanna live; I worked hard and sacrificed to get what I get…Ladies, it ain’t easy being independent.” (Destiny’s Child, Independent Women Part I, 2001). Independence and success came naturally to me, and I felt those were the prime years of my life, although there was much more to come. Unexpectedly, I lost my mother in 2000. She was my rock, my best friend and the person who helped me achieve success. Spending the last night of her life together, we enjoyed ourselves, unsuspecting about what the morning would bring. Driving home that night, we sang together and not thinking, that after that night, I would be singing one of those songs to her spirit, specifically, “How do I live without you, I want to know; How do I breath without you, if you ever go; How do I ever, ever survive, How do I, ohh, how do I live?” (Rimes, How Do I Live, 1997) That song will permanently remind me of my beloved mother.
A few short years later, I lost my father suddenly. I thought (it was) “Me against the world…I got nothing to lose, it’s just me against the world…already crazy and
9/23/3013
Professor Paige Constantino
Life Is What You Make It The sound of music often serves as the backdrop of almost everything in life, where certain songs resonate bittersweet memories. As I express my feelings through music, it is evident that some songs hold much more meaning. We can all believe in a song to express our feelings, and that’s how I experienced and processed many of life’s changes. Some were sad and others were happy; in the end, I found that all I have to worry about is today. To dream of success is typical for me. As a young, unwed mother, I decided that I needed a career which would give me monetary success in order to raise my son. I graduated from Paralegal school in 1998, and landed a prestigious position in my first law firm. Feeling in my moment and on top of the world, I would sing, “Tell me how you feel about this – who would I want, if I wanna live; I worked hard and sacrificed to get what I get…Ladies, it ain’t easy being independent.” (Destiny’s Child, Independent Women Part I, 2001). Independence and success came naturally to me, and I felt those were the prime years of my life, although there was much more to come. Unexpectedly, I lost my mother in 2000. She was my rock, my best friend and the person who helped me achieve success. Spending the last night of her life together, we enjoyed ourselves, unsuspecting about what the morning would bring. Driving home that night, we sang together and not thinking, that after that night, I would be singing one of those songs to her spirit, specifically, “How do I live without you, I want to know; How do I breath without you, if you ever go; How do I ever, ever survive, How do I, ohh, how do I live?” (Rimes, How Do I Live, 1997) That song will permanently remind me of my beloved mother.
A few short years later, I lost my father suddenly. I thought (it was) “Me against the world…I got nothing to lose, it’s just me against the world…already crazy and