The Japanese House II
One Saturday, at the end of my first year of college, I remember going down to the basement of the dorm to attempt to write a few essays and study for a few tests. Despite all my efforts to stay focused, I found myself crafting the perfect study playlist, a “productive” distraction as I have come to call it.
For me, the perfect study playlist has to be calming, but not so calming that I end up asleep on my books. It has to be upbeat, but not so upbeat that I end up dancing around and singing along. Somewhere in the middle, there are those songs that flip the “focus” switch in my brain.
Of all these songs piled into the list, the tunes from the band, The Japanese House, have grown to be my favorites. Metaphors and sounds I’ve never heard before, with beats that secure the song’s foundation. Melodies and weird rhythms incorporated and braided with one another.
I tend to press play on this set of calming yet focus triggering songs most when finals grows near and the hours I need to sit and crank work out increases drastically. 
This semester was full of late nights and waking up to multiple sets of alarms. But, in all the craziness, I forgot about this calm-focus that helps me get things done. I forgot, until one of the bands that I incorporated into the study playlist played a concert a few blocks off campus and I decided to go. 
The Japanese House came to Holland about two years ago. I don’t know why I remember this, but I think I wore the same shoes to that show that I did to this show. 
In these shoes, more worn and torn, I was able to remember how to forget the stress of the coming finals, how to focus in on the core purpose of the assignments. I was able to remember how I can incorporate the artistic process (that looks a lot like the scientific method, because science and art are not that far apart) into my essays and studying. 
Don’t get me wrong, the finals stress came back in full force throughout the week. Their music isn’t that magical. But the music creates an atmosphere. 
Like a slight breeze comes from the speakers whispering, “slow down, but keep your heart beating”, “relax, but let your body dance in whatever you’re sitting in”, “sleep, but dream in vivid color”.
I needed that night more than I knew. And now, with my first round of senior finals complete, I can take a moment to reflect on those moments. I can reflect on how much my shoes have aged since the last concert, and how much I have grown since I began listening to these songs. It’s funny how these small pieces of life unexpectedly weave in and out, triggering these reflection points. 
And with more reflections drawing near, as the months round out to form the year, I, in my shoes, will continue to attend to the whispers. “sleep, but dream in vivd color”~kj