By Harrison Walter
My time at Colorado Mountain College was winding down. I had three major assignments to complete. There were two in Interpersonal Communication and one in English, and several welding classes to attend. The running team was down to the last week of practice and final team workout before our at Colorado School of Mines.
In welding class Charlie was teaching us TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding for the remainder of the semester. I needed to attend class and complete the hands-on assignments using the TIG process for stainless steel and aluminum. TIG was similar to the Oxy-Fuel in that the rod is held separately from the torch that used to melt the material, as opposed to stick or MIG in which an electrode or wire gun is used. It didn’t take long for me to make decent TIG welds on steel. However, once we moved on to aluminum, this process was much more difficult due to how the material melted. Charlie taught me how to position the torch more directly over the weld to lay down a better weld.
For my final project in Interpersonal Communication I chose to create a slide show about Nate, relating skills I have learned from him to concepts discussed in class. I thought this would be fun because Nate was my best buddy, teammate, and support person. Nate always maintains a positive tone and always tries to reframe anything negative I say in a positive light. He looks for the good in people and in experiences.
Nate carefully thinks through what he is going to say before speaking. There is often a pause before he speaks or answers a question. He never speaks out randomly. Nate also has calm mannerisms. Sometimes when I freak out, he pretends to grab all the bad thoughts out of my head and then throws them off into the trees. This helps calm me down. Brooklyn has watched him do this, and now she sometimes does the same thing. This demonstrates how Nate has communicated a calming method by example, since others have picked up on it.
There’s an old saying that you learn more from listening than you do from talking. If communication is balanced, you take in at least as much information as you put out there. So, listening is a really important skill. He’s a good listener and does so in a way you know he is listening. Another way I know that Nate listens to me is that sometimes days or weeks later, he mentions something I said.
In English Composition, the final assignment was to write an argumentative paper and support statements using references. I decided to write about how music can help autistic athletes break through barriers. I demonstrated how using music headphones helped me in competitive running. Back when I struggled with crowd noise, it wasn’t just because of the noise itself. I felt like the crowd was focusing on me too much, like I was under a microscope. I believe the music headphones helped me get through this, not just by drowning out the sound but also through the power of music actually changing my brain. While the headphones were curing the crowd problem, the music was actually changing my neural pathways. I cited references in this paper from several sources, including Phil Maffetone’s book, B Sharp!, which discusses music’s effects on the brain. I was able to complete this paper and submit it early, which really helped me get ahead of everything in these final weeks.
In addition to these assignments, I also had planned my musical performance for this week in the Multipurpose Room. A few days before the concert, I rearranged the furniture in the MPR for this event. I put couches and chairs next to each other and then set up a “stage” area where I put my computer and HomePod mini, which I would use for accompaniment music. However, one day, some Ski Area Operations students came into the MPR while I was trying to rehearse. They were using the space to fix a snowboard. I was frustrated that they took over my rehearsal space and referred to them as idiots. Nate mentioned this to my dad. He had a talk with me and told me not to call people idiots. He also said that they call it a multipurpose room for a reason — everyone has access to it for different things.
When the concert day arrived, I had by now figured out the songs I was going to perform and then rehearsed them with the HomePod plugged in. I had to make a last-minute switch with one of the songs since one didn’t have a downloadable accompaniment available. This went well for the first couple of rehearsals, but when I had Nate watch one of them, one of the songs paused unexpectedly towards the end, causing me to come unglued. I threw my glasses on the ground and quickly unplugged the extension cord. I even tried to climb out of the window. A little while later, Nate showed me a video of a Beatles song when John Lennon messed up singing the first words. When he did, he just kept on singing the rest of the song. Nate suggested I try this approach instead of responding with outbursts.
I was really excited for the concert. After dinner, I set out the song lists on the table. Then, I plugged in my HomePod and set it on the other table next to my MacBook. Lastly, I set up my phone on a tripod and started the livestream on Instagram. Quite a few people showed up. At seven o’clock, I announced, “Welcome to the solo choir concert!” After this, I explained my history of being in choir in high school, followed by CMC not having a choir despite me trying to start one. I told the audience that I was there to bring them a proper choir performance. I started out with performing, “I Wish I Were a Cloud.” Then went on with, “When Words Are Not Enough,” “Today’s Hope,” “Light of Grace,” “I Am Song,” “Are You Proud of Me,” “You Are Light,” and “You Will Be Found.” These were all songs I found on YouTube and memorized quickly. I especially wanted to do “You Will Be Found.” My high school choir was rehearsing that song when the Covid pandemic hit. We never performed it. After each song, the audience applauded. After the final one, the clapping sounded louder and seemed longer. As I walked away from the “stage,” several friends congratulated me. After the cheering and applause ended, I stopped the live video and posted it on my Instagram as a reel. Nate and I stayed to clean up the MPR room and put away chairs and couches. I was very fortunate to have this many people turn out for my event and enjoy the songs I performed.
Also this week, I decided to apply for a summer job with the Leadville Race Series. To do this, I had to update the resume that I had built in high school and send it to Tamira Jenlink, the event manager at the Leadville Race Series. Working there part-time might allow me to continue spending time in Leadville after graduation.
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