In the Spirit of Thankfulness

A post by Ann Yu

Onstage after performing in Morning Meeting, c. 2013

When I went to boarding high school, I would occasionally perform during Morning Meeting, an all-school assembly in the Chapel that met 2-3 times a week. The week before Thanksgiving, it was a long-standing tradition for the student body presidents to read a list of what the school community was thankful for during Morning Meeting. Some items on the list were loving nods to the special people and places on campus, others lightly poked fun at certain characters and quirks of the school. Somehow in each of my four years at Western Reserve Academy, “Ann Yu’s music” made the list. At the time, it was horribly embarrassing to have my name read in front of the whole school, but in retrospect it was an immensely sweet gesture for which I am deeply grateful.

I really didn't understand the importance of my inclination towards music. I knew music was important and that it could touch people, but I couldn’t articulate its true worth. It was simply something I enjoyed doing, and an identity I sometimes carried. But the simple fact that someone took notice and thought it was important enough to express was a small seed planted in my own personal journey of discovering music—for myself and for the community. 

I am thankful for the many seeds planted in my life to show me not only that my voice matters, but that it was created to matter, and can impact the world for the better.

In the spirit of thankfulness, I present to you a few of the many things that I am thankful for, musical and non-musical, in no particular order of importance:

-a loving God who always provides

-family, friends, teachers, acquaintances, and strangers who lovingly support me in the most generous of ways

-receiving hugs from a line from kindergartners at Noble Elementary School after a performance

-weekly hikes at the Cuyahoga Valley National Park 

-meeting and collaborating with some of the most inspiring artists and musicians 

-being a part of Renovare

-the gift of music I’ve been given and having the opportunity to share it with people

-pink noses and fuzzy butts of creatures that make my heart melt 

-Maine’s wild blueberries

-traveling to Denmark, Edinburgh, and Paris over the summer 

PS. I’m not sure if this is true, but after I graduated I was told my name still made the list. Thanks, Western Reserve Academy

xx Ann