A guitar is probably the farthest thing from unique inside a college apartment, especially here at BYU. It seems like everyone plays the guitar or if they don't play they have one anyway for looks or something. However, my guitar is unique and special to me as I'm sure other guitars are unique and special to their owners.
Takemine G Series Acoustic/Electric might be the technical name for my guitar, but for me her name is Betsy. If my apartment was burning down and I could only grab one thing, it would probably be Betsy and not because she cost a pretty penny but because now she is has more sentimental value than any other physical object in my possession.
Betsy has always been reliable to me. She does what I tell her to and she doesn't put up a fight. She's ready to make beautiful music at anytime in the day. She waited two years for me during my mission. She stayed up late with me night after night. She helped me get through the tough times and also helped me celebrate during the good times. She doesn't get jealous when I decide to play the drums instead and she is always down for a good time with the harmonica. Some of my favorite and most cherished memories with my friends were jamming with them creating all types of music. None of those memories would be mine today if it wasn't for my guitar.
I began to play the guitar at age 13 because I wanted to be cool like my older brother and rock out with a band. Learning the guitar didn't come easy to me but for some reason I didn't think twice about dedicating a lot of time to practicing. I've lost a lot of sleep because there were many times when for some reason I could only make progress on songs really late at night. After midnight seems to be an inspirational time for me because that's when I've written or made up the majority of my songs.
My parents gave Betsy to me for christmas when I was 16 and I can honestly say she is one of the best gifts I've ever received. Besides my mission I've taken her with me almost everywhere, Mexico, California, and now Provo. I plan to keep her forever no matter how bad she starts to sound. To me she will always sound amazing. I hope to one day teach my children to play guitar and to buy them their own guitar that they can cherish and take care of.
For most guys at BYU playing the guitar is their mating call. They purposefully play outside their apartment or in areas of high foot traffic in hopes that some innocent young woman will be lured into their song. This disgusts me and because of that I have made it a point to avoid the appearance of something so pathetic. I love to play in my room where I don't have to care about how I sound. This way I can experiment and create new songs.
In short my guitar has done a lot of good for me. It has brought me closer to my brother, my friends, and when played appropriately it can bring me closer to my Heavenly Father.
Artist's Statement:
It didn't take me long to know what I wanted to write about for this assignment. It was pretty clear because my guitar is something I always take care of and always keep with me. In preparation for writing this blog I of coarse decided to play my guitar for a while. It was good to set aside time to play because lately I have been so busy with work and school that I haven't had any time at all to do so. It felt great to play and know that I wasn't wasting time putting off my homework because in this case playing the guitar could be considered part of my assignment.
My guitar has always been an escape for me. I always feel rejuvenated after playing, like I'm ready to go conquer the world. This assignment helped me realize that my guitar can do so many things for me. It can calm me down, pump me up, cheer me up, and create great memories with families and friends. I always knew that I cherished my guitar a lot and that it was special to me, but this assignment has definitely made me be more appreciative of my guitar and also of my parents for giving it to me for Christmas. I owe them even more thanks for dealing with the loudness and telling me I sounded good when I most likely didn't. Their support has kept me going and I never plan to stop playing my guitar.
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