To say the last few weeks of my first year at 91直播 went by quickly would only be a half-truth. Every day felt like an eternity鈥揺arly mornings, late nights鈥搕he feeling some of us know all too well. But every week just seemed to dissipate into thin air. As if to say, 鈥渢he sooner, the better,鈥 each week held a relentless energy that, I鈥檒l admit, I never got entirely on-board with.
During Week 10 of the semester, with the fury of exams on the horizon, I made a promise to myself: I will make time for an exclusively fun project. The idea may sound counterintuitive. Subverting stress from school assignments by assigning myself a project鈥搕rust me, I see and acknowledge the irony behind that statement. Ultimately, I just knew that unless I made an explicit effort to do something purely for enjoyment, I wouldn鈥檛 do it at all. It was a preemptive move鈥揳n attempt to save myself from having to endure complete mental and emotional annihilation during finals week (*ehem* Midterms week, I鈥檓 looking at you). I was pondering ideas that would accomplish twofold:
1. Remind me why I love what I do without all the pre-assignment/pre-recording session pep talks.
2. Be something I can look back on (because while a jury performance, competition recordings, and final papers are things I鈥檒l hold onto, my brain files all these items into the mental storage bin labeled: STRESS-INDUCING 鈥 PROCEED WITH CAUTION. For this project, I was looking for something that emanated a bit more serotonin).
Art was the first thing that came to mind, but it is only a hobby of mine and, truthfully, I harbored a little too much guilt to pursue it further knowing course readings and other assignments loomed overhead. Then, it hit me. If I could encapsulate my first year at 91直播 in one thing, it would be video game OST (Original Soundtrack) playlists with rain ambience. Walking to class, taking naps, writing papers, completing projects鈥揳 solid portion of my days had this relaxing musical backdrop encasing them. Well then鈥 why don鈥檛 I make my own?The recording equipment setups available in Bibbins Hall classrooms are easy to use; I have plenty of scores from my favorite OSTs; I have a partner-in-crime, JY, who has had many a jam session with me; and I have the bare minimum amount of technological prowess to finagle the project together. All in all, the pieces were falling into place and the idea seemed like it could become a reality. Once I got the green light from JY, it was off to the races.
Truthfully, JY and I really didn鈥檛 have to change a whole lot to our daily life to accommodate this project. This is exactly the way I wanted it to be, but it can be hard to 鈥渇ind鈥 time when work is overbearing. And sadly, anything鈥搉o matter how much love you have for it鈥揷an feel like work. Once JY and I got to a stopping point with our assignments for the day, we often came together and noodled around with some of our favorite video game tunes starting around 10pm鈥揾im on keyboard, myself on flute. It was an awesome time to just sit back and bask in the nostalgic glory.
After deciding to move forward with the project, our jam sessions merged into practice sessions. We decided on 10 tracks to record for the finished product鈥搕racks that we enjoyed and that required minimal effort to put together. Simultaneously relaxing and a surprisingly good exercise in chamber music, this proved to be a project that fit right in the sweet spot of being fun and productive. We recorded over the last two and a half weeks at 91直播 but our recording sessions were essentially half-practice/half-mayhem. Organized chaos, really. We got a few takes of each track and spent the rest of the time making jokes and enjoying our time together. Likewise, I鈥檓 keeping both the unedited files and the finalized recordings鈥搕hey all emanate their own bits of serotonin.
At the end of the day, we went in knowing this project wasn鈥檛 a serious endeavor but, regardless, we wanted to do a decent job. And, you know what, I'd argue that the whole project was a success! So, I鈥檝e linked the finished YouTube video below. Once I arrived home鈥搒chool assignments a mere thing of the past鈥揑 made a small digital illustration on FireAlpaca for the project's thumbnail. Had to get some art in somehow. Forced fun time, while it may seem contradictory, isn鈥檛 half-bad. :)
The month of March 2026 was probably the busiest I have been on this campus since moving to 91直播. So let me break down the month鈥檚 ups and downs, and how I was able to navigate through them.
While every freshman visits Cleveland as part of the Connect Cleveland program, it鈥檚 my observation that many students forget that this is always an available resource.
