Life and Drumming, one and the same
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Life and Drumming, one and the same
My name is Harrison White. I’m a fun lover, an easy-going guy with lots of interests and passions: I have always loved people and have always been a LOUD sort of person.
I naturally took to the drums when I was about 5 years old; I was so obsessed that I got some things from around the house like desk bins, tin cans and boxes and used to make my own drum kit out of it. I started playing real drums when I was 10 and then got my own kit which I would play every day after school. Drumming for me was an awesome place where I felt I could express myself; I felt really connected with the rhythm and loved learning how to play new things.
Throughout my schooling I became increasingly interested in playing music and excelled at playing the drums. I spent most of my time in high school attending music activities, playing drums and occasionally skipped class to go and play in the music block.
At high school, although I was a very sensitive, easy-going and happy person, I really didn’t have any idea about what I wanted for my future. It wasn’t something I really wanted to think about too seriously and I never liked the discussions about choosing classes, securing a future and going to university.
When I left school one thing led to another and I decided that becoming a nurse would be a great job that I would like. I am now in my third year of study and very much look forward to beginning a career in nursing! What I love about nursing is that it is a fairly simple job. It requires a lot of training and study of the body, medications and nursing procedures/interventions, but I find it to be really cool and interesting. I love getting in and engaging with all of the learning at university and getting an understanding of the nurse’s role because often I have felt (a lot like in school) that things can tend to be explained with too much complexity, where as they could be rather simple.
One thing I wish I learned in school was self-love. Learning topics at school was relatively easy for me, and I could understand new things quite easily, but one thing I never learned from anywhere was that self-love is also important. Doesn’t this make total sense? And yet we are not taught this as we are growing up. I would rather have been told, “hey guys, your assignment is due in 2 weeks; let’s see how you are going with it, and by the way how are we all sleeping and what are we feeling?” School was very intense and this sort of support just isn’t available.
I have loved reading the books “The Way it is”, “A Treatise on Consciousness” and “Time”. When I became a teenager I developed a love of philosophy and particularly enjoyed the teachings of The Dalai Lama. I used to carry a little book of his quotes around with me at high school. Some people thought I was interesting because no one has really ever done that before and they just said; “you are wise Harry”. I thought so too.
I still play music, and enjoy making art, connecting with people, going swimming and of course playing the drums. A big thing that I have learned about drumming and nursing is that I need to give equal attention and focus to all the things in life I do. I like to keep things in balance while having fun and enjoying what I do.
Drumming now is just as good and even though I play less often, I have an amazing quality to play with because it is a celebration of my whole life, I bring the joy of drums wherever I go.
