Long story short: student multi-sport athlete has one too many concussions, is hospitalized and told to give up contact sports. After recovering, it’s revealed that he’s now a musical savant and can pretty much play any instrument.
You know something, in a way, this is almost not fair. Injury and concussions are sort of supposed to ruin lives, not keep them on the same track, or possibly make them better. I speak partially in jest, because obviously I don’t want to necessarily hear of people I don’t know lives getting ruined by injury, but the other part of me would be lying if I didn’t say that I was jealous of this kid’s fortuitous “brain re-wiring.”
Seriously though, how lucky is this kid to now have the gift of spontaneously becoming a musical savant? I mean, his athletic aspirations were to play professional lacrosse, and I wasn’t even aware that there was any possible way to play lacrosse professionally. So to call him an athlete prior to his concussions is somewhat misleading, but the fact of the matter is that yeah, it sucked that he had to deal with multiple concussions, seizures, hallucinations and hospitalizations, but I honestly think that he came out better than in which he went in.
Personally, I would love (read: love) to have the musical prowess this kid has now. Hell, I’d take half of his musical aptitude and current instrument arsenal now, for that matter. I just want to be able to regain competence on the piano, and learn how to play the guitar. It’s kind of not fair; kid gets knocked in the head a few times too many, and then wakes up with the ability to comprehend music like he were fucking Rain Man counting cards, and can basically play anything he picks up. He can’t even read music. I can. I can read music just fine, but can’t parlay it into the ability that this kid can.
Without question, this kid came out of this situation with a way brighter future than he went in. Athletics are a part of youth and growing up, and in the grand spectrum of life, there is a very finite amount of time in which they can be competently performed. Musical talent is timeless, and barring amputation or the loss of ability to use your limbs, there’s no reason why it doesn’t NOT age gracefully long past years of youth and optimal physical condition. Lacrosse would have gotten this kid nowhere in life. The ability to pick up any instrument and play it like a pro will get him over anywhere in the world.
God this isn’t fair. Kid gets knocked in the head, gains the ability to play music. I’m not saying I want to give myself concussions with hopes that this happens to me, but I sure as shit wouldn’t complain if an accidental ringing of my noggin resulted in half the music competency of this kid’s. So jelly.
A sadistic part of me hopes that this is like that movie Rookie of the Year, where eventually the joyride has to come to an end, and the kid loses his magic musical prowess, like when a snare drum falls on his head or something. And while at a grand symphonic orchestral performance that he needs to perform in order to graduate from Julliard or something; unlike the movie, he’s unable to bullshit his way through the last three outs, and his life is ruined.
But that would be mean.
