Sounds of silence part 2

(transcribed from handwritten copy)

So, it's a beautiful spring day, a great time to go out onto College Green and listen to Penn, literally. The second listening exercise was quite an interesting experience. At first, I felt I couldn't really hear anything. Sure I could hear people talking, but that was about it. As I concentrated, I realized I could focus my hearing, eavesdropping on entire conversations quite a distance away from me. Slowly, I let myself relax and unfocus, choosing to hear the sea of voices all around me. My hearing floated above the voices, as odd as that may seem, and I could slowly pick out other sounds. The wind gently brushed the leaves, and the generator atop the hospital provided a grumbling backdrop that was steady and yet went through sonic cycles, growing louder and softer periodically. After concentrating on it, I realized that the generator was actually quite loud and wondered why the noise didn't bother people more than it did. It must be because the kind of sound it makes is not bothersome unless one focuses on it specifically. Overall, I was pleased to find that my hearing has progressed since the first assignment. It took me much less time to become adjusted to the sounds around me and start "playing" with my hearing by focusing and unfocusing it. I was able to pick out sounds much easier and focus on them. I've actually realized this while listening to jazz (and other music as well), I can pick out individual components of the music easier now than at the begininning of the semseter, probably as a result of the class as well as my a capella group, where I do similar exercises to focus on my voice part.