I spent a lot of time thinking through what the best way to begin this project would be. I haven’t spent any time in the last year and a bit listening to music up until now. Picking out which CD to start with was intimidating. In the end I picked one at random. The CD is called Inhuman Rampage by Dragonforce. I was surprised, considering the fact that I don’t recognize any of these songs specifically, of how many Kody memories came back to me with the music. Memories and music just seem to go hand in hand for me.

This CD consists of a lot of very high energy songs and a lot of metal. Listening to the first few songs I thought back to times where Kody and I would play dance dance revolution. Anyone who has played the game before knows there are a few songs that are extremely difficult even on the very lowest setting. When Kody and I played DDR together, we would switch off, each picking a song. Kody would love to select one of these extremely fast and long metal songs since it was extremely challenging. He’d always giggle and have a sneaky little smile on his face.

The first few songs on this CD make me think of those songs. They would just seem to get faster and faster until we couldn’t keep up. Kody liked to try messing me up by putting his hand in front of my face while hopping around on his mat. Invariably, he and I would crash to the ground after a certain point in the song. We couldn’t help laughing hysterically whenever the games ended with us in a heap on the ground.

The other strong memory this triggers for me is the way that Kody and I would listen to music like this when we went to the gym together. He loved to challenge me to races on the treadmill. Since he was a foot taller than me there was no way that I could ever win any of these “races”. We still loved to run fast next to each other until one of us gave up. It is wonderful reliving these moments in my head. The memories and music are so beautiful for me.

This type of music gives me back the feeling of adrenaline and just of having fun with my friend. It was always great to share these metal moments together. The CD ends with a slow song much in contrast to the songs that come before it, which was good for reflection. With my first CD behind me, I am feeling even more motivated to move forward with this journey