The Soundtrack of my Life

I don't know about you, but I feel like I always have background music going in my life. It's almost as though there's a soundtrack to my life. For example, whenever I hear "If You're Not the One" by Daniel Bedingfield or "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana (odd combo... I know) I will always be transported back to the summer before my senior year of high school. Long summer nights with one of my close friends, spending every minute together, talking about everything, and reading Order of the Phoenix to each other. Or "Saide Hawkins Dance" by Relient K and "Rawkfist" by Thousand Foot Krutch are the anthems of when I was in youth group.

Do you have those songs which seem to be in the background of your life? The ones where if someone made a movie about you, you know they would need to be in the soundtrack?

Music is always there in the background for me. In the car, blogging, reading, writing, etc. I even have music for my characters which when they pop up on my iPod I can't help but start plotting and getting into their heads.

I think that is part of why I was drawn to instruments like piano and guitar. They're the ones which are staples in all types of music. They're always there in the background.

I started to play piano when I was in fourth grade and I loved it. I can't say I was the greatest piano player ever, but I wasn't bad. I stopped taking lessons at some point, and that put a stall on my increasing my skills. However, by this point though I had picked up the clarinet and I was deep into band in high school and singing for choir. The clarinet is awesome and I love it, but it's not one you usually pick up to play with friends and jam or something.

However, I also had decided to pick up the guitar. When I was in 8th grade I bought one with my confirmation and graduation money thinking it would be a great way to learn how to play more popular music and maybe even try to write my own. I tried to take lessons, but for some reason it just didn't take. For years my guitar has been sitting to the side untouched. I think it's because the instrument itself it too large for me. It was bulky and my fingers weren't strong enough to get the chords.

So I kind of gave up on finding that perfect background instrument. The one I could just pick up and play.

Then, a couple of weeks ago I was watching a Carrie Hope Fletcher video on YouTube. She's one of my favorite YouTubers and she was playing a song wither her ukulele. I thought "I could totally do that."

So... I did. After some awesome encouragement from my friends via Facebook and Twitter I went online and ordered a $50 pink ukulele.

I haven't been able to put it down since. Trust me, putting it down to work on my blog is a struggle. I love playing it! I was nervous it might be the guitar all over again. I was worried my fingers wouldn't be strong enough or long enough to get everything.

But it's been awesome! It's only been a little over a week - so I might be jumping the gun a bit. But I feel like I've finally found that background music I've been searching for. Even the first weekend of getting in delivered to my door I was sitting around on the couch lazily playing as I hung out with people. It's something I can just carry around with me and play whenever I feel like.

It's like finding the soundtrack to my life.

Any song suggestions for me to learn?

I'm also linking up with Mingle Monday!