1. Believe in Yourself, and You Can Conquer Anything<br />Hannah Moulds<br />Humanities 30-1<br />Mr. Kabachia<br />There are times in people’s lives, such as tragedies, where we are forced to turn to alternatives means in order to try and restore honour and certainty in our lives. How we deal with these situations plays a major role in how much we struggle to get past them. Many people use outlets in order to deal with the consequences of a tragedy. Music is a common outlet that people use, whether it be writing lyrics or playing an instrument. This gives people a chance to use their tragedy as an asset to them; it makes dealing with the pain easier to handle. The poem Setting up the Drums, written by Don McKay, reflects this idea of an individual using their failure in order to fuel their passion for the drums even though they regret what has happened. Another piece of literature that uses music as an outlet is Redemption, written by John Gardner. It is important for everyone to become aware of their outlets specific to them, many people <br />When something tragic in your life occurs, it is often hard for people to accept what has happened in order to move on. The poem Setting up the Drums portrays the idea of using your tragic circumstances to your advantage. The poem states, “How music will make itself walk into the terrible stunned air behind the shed where all the objects looked away.” This quote is important because it is saying that music will take you to a place that some people may not want to go in their lives; such as accepting something you have done. It allows for you to reflect those circumstances and use them in order to pursue your passion, such as playing the drums, by giving you a whole new perspective. Don McKay states in his poem, “All this hardware to recall the mess you left back home and bring it to music and get back to the heart.” The meaning behind this quote is that through the drums, people are able to recall what has happened in their life, but use the music to bring themselves back to their heart by doing something they love. People should become aware of the important things in life because it could become the one thing that saves us from desperation. <br />For some individuals, there are tragic times that have happened so unexpectedly that the guilt consumes every thought and action they pursue. The character Jack Hawthorne, in the excerpt Redemption by John Gardner, is a character that has lost his presence life; he became isolated from his family and his mindset became consumed by darkness and despair. The guilt after the farming accident, which lead to his brother’s death, became the sole meaning of his new perspective. The only way Jack could deal with the sadness and loss was his passion for playing the French horn. When he attended one of his regular weekly practices, his hopes of be a great player was quickly shut down by his teacher. Instead of allowing the depression of these thoughts to consume him, like he had done with his guilt, he agreed to come to practice again. This shows a major change in Jack’s character; he had allowed the guilt of his brother’s death to change him, but he could not handle the thought of his passion for music being crushed. Jack found his new lease on life, and was not willing to give up on it. <br />How we deal with tragic circumstances is specific to everyone, but we have to understand ourselves in order to conquer what is bringing us down. People have two choices when it comes to dealing with tragedies; to be consumed by the sadness and guilt, or finding alternative means in order to regain meaning in their lives. As we see in the Setting up the Drums poem, people have to be able to see that their tragedy is not a flaw to them, it is an asset. They can use their failure as a fuel to their passions, even though they have regret. In the excerpt, Redemption, we see a character who is, at first, unable to move on from his guilt. But when he found his passion for the French horn, he was able to find an outlet from his guilt and sadness. He knew that this passion was going to allow for him to find meaning in his life, and even though his hopes of being were laughed at, he did not give up on trying. Having an understanding of yourself and what you believe in gives you a greater chance of conquering any obstacle that is a struggle to overcome.<br />