10/23 - Minimalism

Usually this is a music blog, but I will take this post to talk about a subject that includes music, even though that's not its main focus.

I used to collect everything when I was a kid. I would keep all of my A papers, and all of the little things I wrote, and even recently, I kept all of the letters anyone wrote, concerts I went to, and things I did, and proudly displayed them for anyone who wanted to see.

These things showed how awesome I was, and gave my life meaning; I was worth something because I saw the Who live, or went to Patrick Roy's 1,000th game, or got a letter from the coolest teacher ever on my birthday, or was accepted by the Berklee School of Music. I could pull out things from when I was a little kid when I was feeling down and see not only how cool I was back then, but how much better I am at stuff now, which is definitely uplifting.

Popular society nowadays is very materialistic. People buy nice cars that aren't necessary for their lifestyle, or houses that are beyond necessary. I don't really have to explain it, I'm sure, but it makes me sad to think that there are people that go out and spend a bunch of money just because it makes them feel good.

I have decided to start passively rebelling against that whole notion, since it is one of my least favorite notions. I have been considering it for a while, but today I cleaned out my room... well, started to anyways. So far, I have taken down most of the things from my wall and filed it away, put ads up on Craigslist for things I don't need (don't worry Mom and Dad, only reasonable offers), and already have a clothes hamper full of clothes to give away or resale.

I guess the rebelling against materialism thing is cool, but for me it's not really all about being angry about something, it's quite the opposite actually. If I have less stuff, I have less stuff to worry about, less stuff taking up space, less things I can't find, and less eyesores to keep in my room.

I will have a couple of complications though. Percussionists, and timpanists in general, are pretty notorious for hoarding mallets, drums, music, etc. So I won't keep myself from having proper equipment, since it's my job, but I won't keep things that I don't have a use for either.

I'm also a student, so I have to keep plenty of papers and notebooks and things, and it can get pretty cluttered sometimes. I haven't had a desk since I've moved in, so I work on my bed or the couch in the living room, and the surrounding areas get pretty disastrous after a few days, but I'm getting better at it.

Soon, I will take to the kitchen to get rid of extra utensils, dishes, and things, because the fewer kitchen things you have, the better you are at washing them. And I'll do my best with the rest of the house without making everyone else weirded out by not having art and decorations and stuff in them.

M