Are You Ready to Lope?

   For my multi-model project, I decided to use my memoir paper entitled “Are You Ready to Lope?” I decided to use this paper because the experience it tells means so much to me. In my paper, I tell of the time my family and I went on a vacation to a ranch in Colorado. The story discusses how I at first was very skeptical of the trip and did not know what to think or how to react to what I was about to encounter. Through the paper you see how horse riding, hiking, and many other exciting activities that I participated in that week taught me a very valuable life lesson that I will be able to carry with me for the rest of my life.

            Although there is a main life lesson that I am taught through my trip, there are many themes throughout my paper that I am able to reflect on and relate to after spending my summer vacation in such a foreign environment. For this project I am able to take four songs and relate them back to the different themes that are in my paper. Through this carefully selected playlist the reader will be able to understand the following themes: family, moving on, not letting anything stop you, and getting through the hard obstacles that life will throw at you. Through these four songs and my annotations of each, I hope that the reader will be able to not only see what I did on a family vacation, but also be able to understand how this trip made me feel and how I learned a valuable life lesson that will be reflected through many different themes. I also hope the reader will be able to relate to these songs and understand exactly what each one means to me.

Song #1: Those I've Loved- Eric Church

And I hope they know
I never woulda made it this far on my own
Where would we all be without those
Fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers
The friends I’ve made, the long lost lovers
I wouldn’t be who I am today
If not for those I’ve loved along the way
Along the way

       In my memoir one of the main themes is family, even though at first read-through of this paper, one may not be able to recognize this. While on vacation, I was surrounded by my family every single step of the way.  They went through everything with me while I was there. They watched me ride horses, climb mountains, and encounter many new things throughout the week. They also watched me learn a valuable life lesson along the way. If it wasn’t for my family, we probably would not have even been able to even go on this endeavor and I would never have been able to learn and experience the things that I did. In the song Those I’ve Loved by Eric Church, Eric talks about all the people that have been in his life, including some of his nearest and dearest family members. He talks about how these people have touched him and how they changed him in a positive way.  I feel the same way about my family and was definitely reminded of this while on vacation. Through my trip and this song, I am able to see how much they truly do care about me and how they have made me into the person I am today. They have got me through the good and the bad times and were always there for me, even when I felt like no one really seemed to care. Just like Eric said, “I wouldn’t be who I am today, If not for those I’ve loved along the way.”

Song #2: I Hope You Dance- Lee Ann Womack

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty-handed

 

 

           Another theme that occurs in my paper is the idea of not letting anything hold you back. While on vacation, I was faced with many different opportunities each and every day. I was given different activities to engage in, never leaving a dull moment. As easy as it would have been to go back to the cabin and just rest or sleep the day away, I decided that while there I needed to seize every single chance that came my way. In the song I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack, it tells one the life lesson about seizing every single opportunity that comes your way. It uses the action of dancing to explain the idea of never letting anything pass you by and not sitting back when life gives you opportunities. Lee Ann says “And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.” It gives an account about how if one does not take the moments that are handed to them, then there may one day be regrets. While on vacation, I did not want to be filled with any regrets at all. Even though I wasn’t extremely anxious about the trip, I did seize every opportunity that came my way. I didn’t just sit back and watch stuff go on around me, like the song strongly encourages you no to. If not for that, then I may not have been able to take away the valuable lesson that was placed in front of me. 

Song #3: Wide Open Spaces- The Dixie Chicks

 She needs wide open spaces
Room to make her big mistakes
She needs new faces
She knows the high stakes 

            Another theme that is very evident in my paper is the theme of letting go of one’s past and moving on in one’s life. This trip occurred during the summer right before I was going into college. In my life, I was about to endure the most significant change that I would ever undergo in the eighteen years that I had already lived. While on vacation, being in the saddle taught me this. As I rode, I felt free and ready to roam. Nothing could hold me back. Nothing could stop me or change my course. This feeling made me think of my life and how it was time to move on from my childhood and begin a new life of my own in a completely different place. In the song Wide Open Spaces, the Dixie Chicks, sing of how in life there always comes a time to leave your past behind and begin a new life. They sing about how a young girl goes out west to find a life of her own. While riding in Colorado, we would always come to wide open spaces. Once we reached these open fields, I felt the urge to just instantly begin to run with horse and move on from where I just came from. Just like my life at the time and the story the Dixie Chicks tell, this theme of letting go is one that I definitely felt on my trip and will be a feeling I will never forget and carry with me the rest of my life.

Song #4: Some Days are Diamonds- John Denver

Some days are diamonds some days are stones
Sometimes the hard times won't leave me alone
Sometimes a cold wind blows a chill in my bones
Some days are diamonds some days are stones.

 

 

 

            Although there are multiple themes that are evident in my paper, the most prominent theme that I discuss is that of prevailing through the hard times. In life, no matter who we are or where we come from, we are all going to face situations that are hard and will seem impossible to get through. From failing a test, to losing a loved one, we all have faced adversity that has required us to “toughen up”. While at the ranch, we went on an overnight trail ride. While on the ride we encountered a terrible hail storm that caused the horses to react in a very negative and extremely dangerous way. After many tugs on the reigns and many hard rain drops hitting my skin, the storm passed and the beautiful Colorado sunshine prevailed, as if nothing had just happened. After this storm, it was very easy to relate the theme of getting through the hard times to my life. In the song Some Days are Diamonds, legend John Denver talks about how in life we are going to have days that are extremely amazing and everything will seem to be perfect. He also talks about how we will go through extremely hard times that seem very hard to overcome, but if we push through them and focus on the positive things in our life, we will always make it. This song relates perfectly back to not only my life, but also right back to my experience at the ranch and everything I encountered during the week.