the musician

i met the musician last semester in a class that changed me more than most.  dr. day's advanced family processes: it inspired me to apply for the flourishing families project internship; it helped me find my confidence in my academic ability in the social sciences; i was reunited with a kindred spirit {allison barnes}; and i met the musician.

after a first impression, i was intrigued.  a typical upper-division marriage and family studies course at byu usually consists of married men with one to three children {disregarding the women, because i'm talking about dating, here}.  most are interesting and have their heads on straight.  they are also very unavailable.  the musician was not.  he was, surprisingly, single.

longish sandy hair he'd push away from his face, slate blue eyes that could look right through you sometimes.  he owned one of the more incredible leather jackets i've encountered, along with a messenger bag that proclaimed, "why, yes.  i am extremely cool, aren't i?"  it was taunting.

and intriguing.  absolutely so.

allison and i had more than one inside joke about this dreamboat boy.  i came across a page of notes from the class a few days ago that was covered with back-and-forth scribblings.  it was blatantly obvious we were paying attention in class. . .just not to the professor!  silly, i know.  but we were both single, idealistic daydreamers, and the musician was an ideal subject.

really, other than his attractive physical self, what intrigued me was his thought.  advanced family processes required a lot of risk-taking comment and critical discussion.  i felt more mentally stretched to my limit in that class than any other.  but the musician seemed to have a firm grasp on that kind of critical thought - his comments were important to the discussion because he could challenge our authors and professors.  in a good way. :)

he was a thinker, and it impressed me.

to defend myself slightly, i'm not creepy. . .or shallow.  at least, i hope not!  my interest wasn't just determined by his gorgeousness always sitting across the classroom from me.  i wasn't mooning over a magazine model.  in fact, i can remember three distinct times that he spoke to me, last semester.  and once, he opened a door for me {which distracted me for several hours afterward}.  allison had the privilege of mutual social circles - she knew his roommates.  so naturally, i also heard snippets from her.  which makes me both less of creepy and not shallow at all, right??

anyway, he's entered the scene, lately.  he's become a part of my life, right now.  so, he needed a name.

"the musician" isn't an entirely fitting title.  but to protect his identity and my peace of mind, i have to call him something.  i toyed with references to the social sciences because it's a connection we share.  i thought about some sort of byu-academic-related title that just seemed much to generic and typical.  "the social scientist" made me want to leave the story off the blog altogether {although i'll admit, it's something i like about him tremendously}.  "byu boy" made me queasy and put images in my head of the typical clean-shaved, missionary-haircut clones that plague. . .i mean grace. . .this campus.  and then i looked back over that page of notes from advanced family processes.  "the musician."  it seemed to fit, decently, at least.  it's what i would call him {in jest} to allison before i actually knew him in any face-to-face, real sort of way.  and it stuck.

so, from here on out {for now}, you'll know who i mean when i talk about "the musician."


because it's sure to come up again. :)