A story of unrecognized talent

This is a story I heard awhile back which I always reflect on.

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold, December morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100 each.

From: The Washington Post

Wouldn't it be nice =)

I've heard this song like a thousand times in my life. On the radio, on tv commercials, tv series, movies... it's everywhere!

But I never really listened to the lyrics itself. Pretty awesome feel good song.

I don't wanna be older... but, oh well, it's a great listen.

The Beach Boys - Wouldn't it be nice

Go back

The memory behind the secretive smile

I was busy with my work while listening to my friend babble bout some girl he liked when he said, "I liked X from the moment I saw her walking in through the gates with Y on her first day"

I looked up from my work. Something was not right.

Me: "You saw her on her FIRST day, walking in with Y?"
Him: "Yeah"
Me: "Are you sure?"
Him: "Of course. It was just her and Y walking in together that morning."

And he went on to describe her clothing on that morning. Collared t-shirt and jeans.

I nodded and smiled to myself.

On that day, also my first day, I had walked in with Y, wearing a collared t-shirt and jeans.

Globalization: Keeps us together or apart?

As a person who loves traveling and experiencing new cultures, I LOVE globalization. The increased accessibility of the world makes everywhere become "within reach".

It's really cool, to have my "gang" in school scattered all around the world. USA, Australia, England, Scotland, Russia, and Singapore... It's almost like we don't believe in going to the same country. But the awesome powers of the internet enables us to keep in touch constantly. Sometimes, it's almost like we've never been apart. We get to exchange stories, so we get a little taste of what life is like in each country.

While globalization has its great perks, I feel that to a certain extent, it makes the world a lonelier place to be. Communication over the internet is great, but nothing beats actually being together in the same place at the same time.

Coming back from overseas, we have the idea that we are going "home". Home is where everything and everyone is supposed to be. But when we are home, excited to meet up with "the gang" just like before we left, we find that they're not there. They're all scattered all over the world. So we end up just hanging around at home alone with no friends.

As for relationships, what is the point in getting into one when one or the other will be leaving for another country possibly forever? Globalization brings people together, but they also keep them apart.

Life is full of uncertainties. Things change. Added with globalization and technology, life has more uncertainties, and things change at a faster pace.

Globalization. I don't like it. My friends are all scattered all around the world, so is my family, potential spouses, and even me. There's no knowing where I'll be, and there's no knowing where everyone will be.

The simple chance of two people being in the same country at the same time. It's a blessing.