Governor DeWine declared a state shut down. People were encouraged to stay in their homes and limit contact with people. As a result, many of my long-awaited, momentous senior events were cancelled. Along with everyone else, I was grieving the losses and disappointments that came with quarantine. I saw as people were struggling with the unpredictability and uncertainty of a pandemic, and I wanted to do something to bring joy to those around me.

I decided to go outside on my driveway and play some music for our neighbors. Even my dad played his guitar with me. The first time we played for the neighborhood was spontaneous and I just wanted to share my music with anyone who wants to hear. Pretty soon, a saw a couple neighbors come out of their houses to hear the music. After about 5 minutes of playing, our neighbors started bringing out lawn chairs to sit and listen in their own yards. The kids in our neighborhood came out and started dancing to our music. Neighbors from down our street came to listen and we got to meet some for the first time. Everyone loved it so much they asked us to play again. We had three more “concerts” after that day. The last time we played, a nice couple came up to us and told us they live a block away and have been listening to the music since the first time we played. They drove out to thank us in person for the lovely music.

We may have been quarantined but that does not mean we have to be isolated from others. Music has such healing qualities and brings unity to all people. At the moment of playing and listening to music together, we were a single community. It felt as if all my worries slipped away when my dad and I made music together. Through all of this, I learned the importance of community. As a psychology major, I remember this time of community and note the significance of human contact. Just a simple gesture of playing my music for others helped bring people out of their homes and connect with those around them.