Extra- Grace "The Magic of the Park"

One amazing night last semester, after I got out of my 6-9pm music business class in Silver, I had this aching urge to sing. I knew, as I walked into the warm fall night, that if I didn't open my mouth and sing something good and soulful I might just explode. I called up my bandmate, Julian, to see if he would come meet me in a practice room, but he was already in his dorm and didn't want to come back to campus. I stood on Washington Square East and weighed my options. I could go to the practice room alone, but I didn't play piano very well and really wanted to sing with a good musician. I could go home and hope the urge to make some music would subside, but I knew that couldn't happen. I decided I would walk through the park towards fifth avenue and see if there were any players strumming their guitars. I thought maybe I could listen for a while and then ask to sit in on some songs. As I walked through the park, the night getting darker, I spotted three old men sitting and playing music on one of the stone circles around a tree. Two were on guitar and one was playing a drum. My breath quickened a little and my excitement grew as I sped up my walking towards the three old hippies. They were playing a "Here Comes the Sun" and didn't care that noone was watching them. I stood off to the side a little and watched for almost ten minutes. I bopped my head and danced a little as they played their tunes. Finally, after I felt as though they had accepted me as a "cool audience member" I asked if I could sing a song with them. The leader of the group happily said "sure sweetie, what do you know?" I asked if they could play Georgia on My Mind in the key of C. They started up a cool, slow beat and I sank into the music. I opened my mouth and let out the music I had been bursting to release. Slowly, a little crowd started forming around us. More and more people started stopping and listening and soon we had a good size crowd listening to our little concert. We played more songs we all knew and I felt a high I only feel when I'm performing. It was different than any other performance high I've ever gotten however, because the whole moment felt so organic and beautiful. There was this magic in the park that night and we all felt it. I suggested we play "Imagine" by the Beatles, and as we started, the crowd began to sway and sing along. It was an incredible experience. I felt so connected to all these people I had never spoken to in my life. We were all united in music. It was absolutely amazing. I left the park that night feeling like I could cry with happiness. I felt so full of life and so full with the beauty of art all I could do was spread my arms out in the air and feel the wind pass over me as I walked up fifth avenue. It's moments like that, it's places like Washington Square Park, that make me realize why I really love New York City.