I want to introduce something pretty meaningful to me. I started playing the guitar in 6th grade and the first song I ever learned was "Everlong" by Foo Fighters. It was different from learning the piano or violin though because this was 100% my own initiative. I'll admit, I was a big believer in the thought that playing the guitar definitely adds points to your "score". But it's more than pretending you're Jason Mraz or Chris Carrabba (although, I wouldn't want to be that short in real life). Any feeling I have, I can channel it through six strings.

Last Saturday I drove to Sam Ash with literally a bag of money. My mom doesn't think I should keep all the money I make (thanks mom...) so she allots me increments every week...from my own account. So I went into the acoustic shop and picked up the last one of these Yamaha FG 730S guitars off the shelf. I like to relate this moment to when Harry Potter first recieves his Phoenix wand from Olivander and he feels this instant connection with it. I played a few John Mayer songs on it and decided it was definitely worth my bag of twenties, tens, fives and I think I even had a few ones in there. It's kind of the first expensive thing I paid for myself so it's special in that way. I don't plan on bringing my violin and even less the baby grand in my house to college so this'll be my musical output for the next phase of my life.

I haven't named it yet. I figure with its vanillablonde top contrasting with the almostblack back and sides, it deserves a pretty name. And yes, I did just channel my inner William Faulkner in creating the words vanillablonde and almostblack.