Simon Lin

I don't know how to feel right now to be completely honest with you. Everyone seems to be ready for something in the summertime, whether its continuing their studies in University or getting ready for their last year of high school. But for me it feels like a transitory stage of nothingness before heading into something big: kind of like an intermission of my life?

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As for regrets? I wish I had more time to dedicate to my extra curricular activities, not because I wish I had more service hours but because I wanted to put more effort into leaving a legacy / helping everyone associated grow further with their potential. But I'm only human and can only do so much, so I guess I don't that much regret towards it since I tried my best.

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Leaving things behind is always the hardest for me, contrary to what I appear to be. I may not have the most friends, but I'm glad to say that the ones I do call friends are all meaningful human beings to me. Maybe that's why it's hard to leave them behind as I step into another chapter of my life in a different setting. Nonetheless I'm still looking forward to what university brings, but I guess I'll be spending the next two months just concluding things and bringing closure to all the things I'm leaving.

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This may not resonate in your case, as this is a personal example. Hope it helps!

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Bach's "Chaconne", the last movement of his 2nd violin partita in d minor, is something that I find very fitting to this context. Bach lived a life filled with tragedy and sorrow, and it was when he returned home one day from a tour outside of the country to find his wife (who bore 7 out of his 10 sons) dead that he composed this solemn dance of mourning to conclude the partita in d minor. Using polytechnic methods in his compositions, Bach wrote as if he were writing for an organ, which left the Chaconne open to interpretation by each and every musician that played it. With an infinite number of ways to execute the Chaconne on the violin, each rendition of the Chaconne is a personal one that reveals similarities between the emotions of Bach and the performer. It can not be said for sure what Bach felt when he wrote the Chaconne, but with every interpretation helping us discover something new about the raw emotions in a piece that's existed for almost 300 years, it is without doubt that the Chaconne is a monumental achievement of not just music, but of humanity. A musician strives for self-respect and originality without forgetting the obligation to respect the intentions of the composer. Since Bach is one of the founding fathers of musical style, form and technique, the Chaconne symbolizes a historical cornerstone in music that reminds us of the musical feats in our past. Furthermore, the detailed analysis of its context, style and form shows how far we've come since its time. Yet despite all the knowledge we've gathered about the Chaconne, the artist is never quite finished with his work on interpreting it, because they can never be certain about the musical decisions they make, or the possibilities that await. Such is true, for any violinist that approaches the Chaconne; while there is never any real certainty in regards to whether or not they're "playing it correctly", they grow wiser as an artist whose curiosity strives for answers in a world filled only with questions. This is also why the Chaconne aspires our futures, for it exists without a single definitive meaning but rather with a universal understanding of the human condition.

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