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Taryn Sorrells

Dr. Casel

Eng

13 February 2019

Morning Commute

Silence in a pitch black room. Beep,beep,buzz, beep,beep buzz. My heart is pumping fast,

my eyes are closed shut, reaching out to find my phone , my hand finally touches my iphone. My

eyes finally open and I turn the alarm off. It’s 6 am in the morning. I feel very tired, Am I

awake? I sit up for a second on my bed and finally, get out of the bed and flip the light switch on.

I wake my two-year old daughter up first, I set her clothes out for the day onto my bed.

She’s bathed and dressed finally. I turn the TV on for her to watch Mickey Mouse on Disney

Junior. Next, I get my youngest daughter ready for the day. After changing and dressing her, the

time is around 6:40 am. I have until 7:30 am to be outside in the van and ready for our morning

commute.

In my head I'm already going through the list of overwhelming tasks that I must complete

for the week. I am overwhelmed studying for English, reading for anatomy, and going to

doctors’ appointments. I sure have a lot to do.

Brushing my hair, washing my face, and finally dressing for the day, I prepare myself and

children to head outside to the van. It's almost 7:30 in the morning.Sometimes I can’t believe we

are up so early, but I can’t complain because it beats having no means for transportation at all.
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It's cold outside and around us it's snow white. Once entering the van, we are greeted by

my sister, Aarion who owns the van. She has to be at work before 8am. She’s dressed

professionally, with makeup, black curls in her hair, sweet-cherry blossom perfume, and ready to

deal with customers at DP&L. I think of our commutes as therapy sessions; we discuss our

problems, talk about our plans for the day, and listen to music. Aarion is the DJ until she arrives

at work. We are listening to R&B. We finally arrive to her work and drop her off. It’s around

7:50 am. We say our goodbyes and now it's my turn to drive the van and take my children to

daycare before heading to school. My first class starts at 10 am, so I have time on my hands.

I'm trying not to overwhelm myself with everything on my mind, and I decide to play my

own music to change my mood. “Mommy, Mommy, I want “Level Up”. I already know she’s

getting ready to ask me to play the song. From the very first time Chis’Aarion listened to “Level

Up” by Ciara she has connected with the song. At first, I thought:​ Goodness we’ve listened to

this song over and over.​ But she’ll cry and make a sad face if she doesn’t hear it. Her pinkish red

rosy chubby cheeks and smile and baby teeth are all I see as she listens to the song. Her hands

are in the air, and she’s waving them back and forth. Although I was tired before, playing the

song shifts my energy along with my daughter’s. We’re dancing and singing the song together

now.

Suddenly, when she knows the song is about to end, she’s ready to say, “Mommy, play it

again!” Instead of saying, ​“No”​, I just play it again. Normally, when hearing a song for the first

time, I may dismiss it and not familiarize myself with the lyrics or any of the words. Ciara is

saying:
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Fake friends get dropped like weight

Team love, don’t want no hate

I’m grindin', I’m shinin'

Up, up, up on my way

Thank God I never settled

This view is so much better

I’m chilling, I’m winning

Like on another level

Wow, something clicks, how did my two year old daughter introduce me to a song that

has so much meaning: “Level up, level up”.

We have listened to the song more than 100 times, I'm certain. As cars go pass, I don’t care who

sees me dancing or even notices the song is loud. For heaven's sake, we’re leveling up, the car to

the left and right of me cannot tell that my daughter and I are singing and dancing to the song. So

while the light is red, I can see a few faces looking at me,​ like what is this woman doing​? All

eyes are on me until the light turns green. I’m motivated and charged up to not give up like I was

thinking before the song was played. I'm sure that even though being a single parent, I’m doing a

fantastic job with my children. Although school is tough and managing my time is so hard, I’m

capable and willing to work hard and “level up” to all of my expectations.

Everyday I learn something different about myself when listening to “Level Up”. I live

for the moment and have fun with my children before I have to drop them off to daycare and not

see them for the next four to five hours because I am in school. It’s our morning anthem.
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