Global Citizen

So I discovered something about myself today: I really like ethnomusicology.  (No, Google, that's actually a word.)  That's kind of a lie.  I thought that I had discovered that fact months and months ago, but since I've been unsure about anything in my life lately, I didn't really trust that feeling.  In the magic that occurred when I got a Twitter and changed everything on my Pinterest (also a word, Google--sheesh), I discovered I really wanted to introduce people (and myself) to other cultures' music.

Times are changing, friends.  It's no longer healthy for us to assume that we, the United States, needs to be number one in the world.  Even thinking that there is some sort of competition amongst (seriously, Google?! that's definitely a word)  is obsolete.  I can follow somebody on Twitter who's the farthest distance from Kentucky (if someone knows where that is, I'd love to know), and form a connection with them.  We wouldn't be best friends--because when would we ever meet?--but I'd have a teeny connection to this person.  If terrible things happened to that person or person's family, it would effect me.  And all across the world relationships like these are forming.  We're not just competing independent countries in the world anymore--we're all connected (in the great circle of life)!

"So how does ethnomusicology tie into this, Kelsey?"  Excellent question, random reader!

I think music and food are the most accessible ways to be introduced to other cultures.  Everybody likes music and everybody likes food.  It's harder in America, for example, to obtain the necessary ingredients to make authentic food from other cultures.  It's super easy to get on YouTube and search for a type of music.  Just in the last three or four days, I've heard music from Bulgaria, North and South India, Poland, aboriginal Australians, Taiwan, Iran, Ireland, and Palestine.  I don't know exactly why, but I'm pretty convinced that immersing yourself in other cultures' music is the first step towards becoming a better global citizen.

Did you know other cultures expressed emotions through songs?  I'm going to assume yes (unless you've exiled yourself from the modern world).  But do you know how those songs effect you?  Is it possible that you can make a connection with another group of people, just by listening to their music?

I believe so.  And as of now I'm committed to becoming a better global citizen--and helping you become a better global citizen--through music.