abcdEfghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

E = Enya

At my Relief Society activity tonight, my visiting teacher shared with us how her brother never had to study for tests in high school.  He wouldn't do his homework, either, but managed to ace the tests and he's now an engineer for Apple.

That was not how I functioned.  I would spend hours studying and hoped I remembered everything 15 hours later.  To prevent my mind from wandering from the silence while studying, I would pop in "Watermark" by Enya into my portable CD player.

Nothing calmed me and helped me focus quite like Enya.  I would also use the music to wind down if I was having trouble sleeping.  I woke up many nights with my headphones discombobulated on my head.

I was first introduced to Enya by the movie Green Card.  I remember the scenes that included Enya were so powerful and passionate.

The entire album took you on an emotional roller coaster of happy, to sad, to dreamy, to anxious.  Enya had a way of speaking to you without necessarily using words.

My brother, who had the CD, also had the piano music for Watermark.  While I'm not a great piano player, if I practice really hard, I can come away sort of playing a song.  I managed to work hard enough to memorize "Waterfall" and would play it often, wherever I saw a piano.

I'm thankful for the peace Enya provided me, for the assistance in clearing my mind so I could focus. I'm thankful for the memories the music provides me, because I always think of my brother when I hear it.  And I'm thankful for the opportunity to practice a talent and come out executing a beautiful piece.