We can rarely identify it as it happens. Usually, it takes hindsight to point and say: “That’s when it happened. After that, I was a different person.”
For 25 years of my life, Howard Shore’s iconic theme of the Shire in Lord of the Rings was just a song to me. A nice, familiar song, but nothing more. Then, the church organist played it when my little sister walked down the aisle to get married. Now, I can’t listen to it anymore without getting misty-eyed.
Songs played at big events seem to be a good example. I still remember the sun shining on my uncle’s grave as we buried him. “See You Again” from the Furious 7 soundtrack was echoing through the cold winter air.
At my great-grandmother’s funeral, I was 12. I pushed the button on the stereo in the chapel, and Andrea Bocelli’s “Time to Say Goodbye” came on. We all just listened to the song in silence.
There are other poignant memories, of course. Sitting in a car, handing over a letter to a girl I loved, and getting rejected. Taking a phone call in the library, which confirmed I was selected for an internship at BMW. Handing in my Master’s thesis.
Not all of these moments come with homework. Some do. But all of them are worth looking back on. “Oh. So that was when it happened. After that, I was a different person.” And if you want to change again from there, special moment or not, you can do so any time.
