"You don't know what you had until it's gone." What if you knew what you had, but everything was still taken away from you? Imagine that you are already a musical prodigy in your teenage years. You are quite well-known as a musical genius and you have been offered to collaborate with a very famous musician. As you accept the offer, you find out that you are struck with a disease that is usually fatal. This disease slowly degenerates the motor neurons in your body, making you weaker day by day until it kills you. Even with such a tragedy, would you be depressed until death or would you still try your best to seize the day? A man named Jason Becker went through all of this and he is still alive today even though doctors said he would pass away …show more content…
decades ago. To me, Jason Becker is my greatest inspiration. During his teenage years, Jason Becker dropped people's jaws wherever he went.
He could play rock, metal, jazz, blues and even classical music. He doesn't only play his guitar at insane speeds, but also very accurately while giving an amazing show. He can play a Mozart piece with a guitar on his lap and even play the guitar with one hand messing around on a yoyo! Jason Becker doesn't really have a practice routine. He practices wherever he is at and wherever he goes! He brings his guitar to the dinner table and he practices in between bites. He falls asleep with a guitar on his hand and once he wakes up, he starts practicing again. Even with such virtuosity, Jason still maintains his humility, great sense of humor and friendly character. To me, Jason Becker has set up a really high standard for musicians everywhere with his determination, focus, technicality and …show more content…
character. When Jason Becker was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), his only concern was that if whether he could still produce the album A Little Ain't Enough with David Lee Roth and go on tour with him afterwards. He did not take the disease seriously because he thought that ALS would just "go away". However, ALS slowly got the best of him and he could only complete recording the album for David Lee Roth. As time passes by, Jason couldn't even hold his guitar, let alone play it. His hands couldn't move anymore and he could barely even speak. He then felt that he had to live the short remaining portion of his life in a wheelchair and then die. Jason was really angry and depressed because of this tragedy. If I had to undergo everything he went through until this point, I would have been absolutely devastated too. I would have been extremely angry, depressed and wonder "what wrong have I done to receive such a tragedy?" I would have harbored thoughts of suicide like Jason too. The only difference is that I probably wouldn't have thought so much about suicide and just kill myself as soon as possible. However, Jason Becker wanted to seize the day and make the remaining portion of his life worthwhile.
Experts who knew Jason Becker and his disability really wanted to help him. They realized that even though his body can't produce music, his brain still could. They then invented a special computer that can help Jason produce music. Jason can still move his eyes and his chin and this machine is able to detect these movements. Jason would "play" a virtual piano note by note and write songs. He would then call musicians to translate the musical notations into music and then record his songs. One can only imagine how difficult this process can be. If Jason wants to compose a whole symphony, he has to first contact his caretaker to assist him with the setting up of the special computer. Then, he has to recall each and every melody and put them into musical notation in the computer. His album, Perspective took 5 years to produce! One can only imagine how much work did Jason and his team put and how tedious was it to even compose 30 seconds of a
song. Doctors said Jason only had three years to live, but he lives much longer than what doctors expected. Decades passed and Jason still lives until today. He still creates beautiful music and some of the sickest jokes. I really admire Jason Becker because he tries his best to maintain a positive attitude even though he is handicapped and can't even talk. Everyday people take advantages of their own health and wellbeing. People in first world countries even complain how their lives "suck" and how much they are "burning out". They don't even realize how blessed and how lucky they are! As the late athlete Greg Plitt once said, "If you guys are wondering if you are 'burning out mentally', take a day off and go to your local hospital. Go to the cancer wing. Look at the four year old who won't ever see their teenage years, probably won't even see their next birthday. Go and see someone who is mentally or physically retarded, or see a soldier who just came back from the war who doesn't have a leg anymore...... Tell him, as you stand there with 2 capable legs, that you are 'burned out', that you don't want to use them. See if that doesn't kill him right there, because he'd do anything to have the opportunity." In context of Jason Becker's story, one can only imagine how much more amazing Jason Becker could've been if it was not because of ALS. Having said this, I do not see Jason's current physical condition as a disability, he is still able to create and produce music. I view his condition as an obstacle rather than a disability. I believe Jason Becker is a very good example of an artist because he sets a clear example of what a person can do when one sets his whole heart, mind and soul into his or her art.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is a non-profit organization that has three pillars that they strive to achieve every day, as well as give everyone the opportunity to help out these sick children and their families.
Host: On September the 11th 2001, the notorious terror organisation known as Al-Qaeda struck at the very heart of the United States. The death count was approximately 3,000; a nation was left in panic. To this day, counterterrorism experts and historians alike regard the event surrounding 9/11 as a turning point in US foreign relations. Outraged and fearful of radical terrorism from the middle-east, President Bush declared that in 2001 that it was a matter of freedoms; that “our very freedom has come under attack”. In his eyes, America was simply targeted because of its democratic and western values (CNN News, 2001). In the 14 years following this pivotal declaration, an aggressive, pre-emptive approach to terrorism replaced the traditional
Started out as an avid fan of artists such as Michael J. Fox, Freddie and Albert King and Lightnin' Hopkins, John Mayer is known to have played songs with the guidance of his talent in guitar playing. The gifted artist has continued
Imagine attending a concert in which if you were to close your eyes, you would assume that the music you are hearing is being created by a cast of band members, each playing their respective instruments. Contrary to your assumptions, however, this band only consists of one member. Keller Williams, dubbed by critics as a one-man-band, is one of a kind both in his musical talent and his solo act. Very few solo musicians have mastered such a multi-dimensional sound and captivating live show as Keller, making him standout amongst today’s musicians. Keller’s ability to perform improvisational live shows, form a large and dedicated fan base, and share the beliefs and attitudes of the hippie generation has given him the musical identity of the jam band genre in addition to his personal identity of being a solo act.
Hey, We are talking about a woman by the name of Bethany Hamilton , if you don't know who I'm talking about just listen and I will tell you.
Steven Connor delves into the mixing and creating of sound by computerisation, as well as the habits of sound; it’s immersion, pathos and objectivity.
On September 1786, at the Annapolis Convention, delegates from five states called for a Constitutional Convention in order to discuss possible improvements to the Articles of Confederation. The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia on May 14, 1787. One of the delegates there to represent their state was twenty six year old Jonathan Dayton. He was the delegate for New Jersey and was also the youngest out of all fifty-five men to participate.
New York is many places in one. It is a place for everything and it is no surprise that millions of people all over the world wish and dream to travel to New York. However, New York traveling is not an easy feat. There are things you have to know to make your dream travel a reality.
There is no arguing Walt Disney practiced what he preached. In fact, he did what he did so well that people continue to bring others to see what he did to this day, that being Disneyland. First, we’ll start by learning about the background history of Disneyland. Next, we’ll compare Disneyland from when it first started to what it has developed into. And finally, we’ll explore all the eight parks and what they have to offer.
As a result from extreme hard work and perseverance followed by an unmatchable drive to succeed, Donald J. Trump has earned the right to be known as a multi-billionaire, real estate icon, and President of the United States of America. Reflecting on his life, he has faced many challenges and overcame them all. To understand how he rose to success and his journey to the top of the kingpin, it is important to recognize how he saw the american dream and pursued it. Today, many recognize him as the president but very few can fully grasp all that he has done in his life. From his start as a real estate mogul, to his impact on media, there are many questions as to how he became so recognizable today.
Imagine, if you can, having altzheimers disease. Sometimes you are completely aware of everything around you, but at other times you can not even remember the names of your spouse or children. One morning, you wake up, and being completely aware, you go to the store, only to find when you get there that you can't remember how to get home. The disease you have will continue to grow worse, and your condition will deteriorate until your mental faculties are so diminished that you will not even be able to remember how to put on your shoes. At this point, with all your abilities either gone or dwindling, you will have lost your independence and be forced to rely completely on others to live your life. Imagine, again, suffering a traumatic accident that has rendered you paralyzed from the chin down and dependent on a respirator to breathe for you. Suddenly, life as you knew it is gone. You can not do anything for yourself, not even so much as breathe for yourself and keep yourself alive. Any and all of your daily maintenance is preformed by someone else. You have no abilities, no...
Walt Disney is one of the most well known animators in the world, but there is so many things he did and so much things about him that so many people don’t know about. For example, I bet you you never knew that Walt Disney’s real name was Walter Elias Disney or that he once drew on the side of his white house with tar when he was a kid. Walt Disney made so many people laugh and enjoy movies through his imagination and creativity. Although in reality he made people laugh and enjoy life itself.Walt Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago. Now you may be wondering why Walt Disney was named Walt Disney, well I’ll tell you, He was named after a close friend of his father’s, Walter Parr who was a pastor at St. Paul's Congregational Church.
...tentially be cured with a one surgery. He uses this story of death to share that life is short. “Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by Dogma. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” He uses repetition and parallelism to drive his message home.
After his 1991 graduation from Harvard Law School, Obama taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004.
I’m not a doctor, I can’t stop someone from dying like that and I couldn’t have done anything to change the outcome. I didn’t become addicted to meth or anything like that afterwards. I was sad but not enough to do something drastic like that. I think that my actions mainly consisted of processing the fact that I would never see my grandma alive again. I don’t think that I did anything harmful or reckless after that. I don’t even think I missed a day of school. I think any actions that I did or did not take were reasonable. I don’t think that any actions that I might have taken hurt anyone, or that they were bad. If I could go back in time, I would not change any of my actions because I don’t think that I did anything wrong.