writing is no longer a quiet subject

If Ben Harper went to Appalachia for a year, he would come back as Sufjan Stevens.

The first time I heard Sufjan, I fell in love. He sings real close to the microphone. He harmonizes with himself. He plays guitar, banjo, mandolin, dulcimer, piano, and more. He recorded an entire album paying homage to the state of Michigan. Then another one for Illinois. He's like the kid who was a know-it-all dork in elementary school but discovered manners and girls and guitar in high school and now after college is a total catch.

It is the Michigan album that I brought to school and started playing every afternoon while prepping for the next day. I give myself about an hour before I go home. Having a soothing soundtrack as I grade and chart and hang and rearrange is pleasant. Plus, when the music ends, I get to leave!

On Friday, on the third day of this wretched rain, after five hours with no relief from child-care (or a bathroom break), I thought, To hell with this mandated curriculum and silent writing time and following my lesson plans! I am fucking stir crazy and I simply must do something that I enjoy! So I put on Michigan and we all sat down to write letters to our pen pals. Everyone was allowed to talk, but few did. The music made me feel human. The rain tapped at our windows. We kept the lights half-off. We wrote for a good forty minutes, which was twice the time I initially scheduled. Some students finished writing early and so they created colorful "envelopes" for their letters. Breana told me afterwards, "I didn't even notice the music was one!" That's how you can tell your soundtrack is good.

Writing is no longer a quiet subject.