gardenia. Birds are nonchalantly twittering away. A delicate wrought iron fence borders the picturesque garden, and is offset by an acutely majestic room. A latticed pattern of entwined tree branches shades the pathway leading to a quaint, white gazebo. As the ghost of today tiptoes smoothly down future’s path, it comes across a pair of companions – a healer and a patient. Between murmurs of conversation, they just sit; sit as they listen and breathe in Mother Earth’s music which is enveloping them. Hold on. Let’s rewind. Go back in time, thirty maybe forty years, until we arrive at the present. Right now, this is my dream: to be part of a music therapy clinic in which music in the traditional sense and the music of the world around us are used to heal. Semiotics. Yes, it all sounds like a song of hippie naïveté from any realistic point of view. To find a music therapy clinic will be hard enough. But to find one like the one of my dreams sounds nearly impossible. How to prepare myself for this is a question in itself. With what I am presently picturing in my mind, I am pretty sure I will need a
landscape architecture degree alongside one in music therapy. Yet, here I am at an institution which does not even offer a degree in music therapy. I openly take every bit of blame, for it was my belated interest in music therapy which resulted in this conundrum. However, I have no regrets, because I now know that the education I am getting at the University of Texas is preparing me to be a leader with a vision. I will not need to find a music therapy clinic which mirrors my dreams; I will create the clinic of my dreams. In all honesty, am I even preparing to become a music therapist? That is the thing: I’m
not. As it is, music therapy is such a small field. It is a very rare thing to learn, so to speak. Therefore, I will have to make good use of the leadership qualities I am learning at UT. Being a leader, being a pioneer, requires an endless list of qualities and skills. Leaders are the many faceted gems in the mosaic. And like gems, while they may shine brilliantly in every different shade inside a Crayola box, they all have the same basic structure. I believe one of the most basic qualities that all leaders have is the ability to fully take advantage of what the circumstances provide, no matter how much or how little. Good leaders have “the power to transform situations.”1 In that spirit, I plan on learning the most I can from the University and the people around me. While my classes will not ultimately prepare me for my actual job, they teach not only the obvious basic knowledge I need, but they at least indirectly teach the leadership qualities I hope to acquire. So far, I am in classes which I technically chose to be in. However, truth be told, I would probably never take a class entitled “Punishment in a Liberal Society” and especially not “Reading and Composition in World Literature” (no offense) were I not forced to. But that is the beauty of Plan II. Requiring classes is the only way to forcibly mold our minds into new ways of thinking.
From this eclectic harvest of classes, I feel like I am learning important life lessons. Astronomy, one of my favorites, is possibly the most random class that really has nothing
to do with either of my majors of Plan II or Psychology. However, it reminds me to always keep my sense of wonder and that we never know what is out there, waiting to be discovered. Through astronomy and the mind-blowing discoveries it entails, I will learn to keep my mind open to new, unimaginable findings in music therapy. Also, even though Punishment in a Liberal Society and World Literature embody what I most fear and despise (writing), I feel those are the two classes which push me the most to become a leader. In Punishment, a discussion-based class with occasional ten-page papers, I’ve learned the necessity of cementing my thoughts and opinions: figuring out my morals and what I stand for. Plus, after listening week upon week, mouth gaping in awe, to a student with the most enchanting oratory skills I have ever heard, I come to realize the tremendous advantages of superior communication skills. Just being able to speak and articulate thoughts clearly, commands attention. Similarly, a therapist must be able to communicate their thoughts and convey the correct message to their patients. Last but not least, 
this class, of course, forces me to think about my passion, my future and my vision – the basis of being a leader. For me, it is truly difficult because I now cannot just get by with b.s.ing some random analysis. We truly have to reach within ourselves and write from the heart. Doing all of the writing disciplines me by teaching me to do what I have to, and also improving my communication skills. Overall, I know that all of the classes I take at the University, even physics, will be relevant to my future by either teaching necessary skills or by building character.Furthermore, there are certain qualities a therapist must impart which I do not think can be taught, but must be picked up. They are personality qualities like empathy,
motivation and inspiration. One of my role models who embodies these qualities is my band director from high school, Mr. Koch. He is a essentially a community leader. Literally hundreds of people look up to him; even students from 30 years before keep in touch with him and get advice. The man who deals with 350 students, the logistics of 6 bands, and the ever-ready onslaught of band parents every year, still manages to know everybody’s names, and remember the important things in all of their lives. He is such a ridiculously busy man, but always has time to talk and to listen. During those four years, I knew I could always drop by and talk to him, and he would devote his full attention to the conversation. While Mr. Koch was great as a people person, he was even better in motivating and inspiring huge groups of students. When it was 105 degrees outside at competition and we were all ready to melt to the ground, he understood us and knew exactly what to say to encourage us to do our best. I hope to one day be as inspirational and looked up to as he is. Finally, I feel one of the most imperative leadership qualities is spirituality: it is a must for a leader to be in touch with the person inside. On that note, I plan on visiting a therapist at the Student Services Building. It is true one of the paramount reasons which compels me to do so is that I will gain a perspective only gained by experience. The best way to have empathy is to actually know what it feels like to work up the courage to make a visit, to know what it feels like sitting all alone in that chair, waiting for someone to analyze you. I want to observe and learn from the therapist to see how they work. I want to gather a general idea of how therapy works. Yet moreover, I hope therapy will help me grow as a person – teach me to accept who I am and to accept
my mistakes. As the saying goes, “A sick doctor cannot heal.” Therefore, before I can even consider the dive of working the field of therapy, I must also be completely intact. The only way to transfer confidence is to have enough in the first place; the Sun cannotradiate heat if it doesn’t have any inside. So through therapy I will strengthen learn to radiate the qualities I hold inside. In addition, I will put to practice the meditation techniques I learned at my temple. As Ram Dass prescribes, meditation leads to intuitive awareness “that links us most intimately to the universe and, in allegiance with the heart, binds us together in generosity and compassion.”2
By soaking in the lessons I am being taught in my classes, I will continue discipline myself but stretch my mind. By emulating all the leaders around me I will learn how to bring out the best in people. By strengthening my spirituality, I will continue my journey of self-exploration and in the end, hopefully forge my way down that pathway to the quaint white gazebo .
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