Where I Go, My Music Comes With Me

As a high school graduate, I looked forward to entering college.. Following in the same experience as my older brothers, I looked forward to the independence of living in a dormitory with new people. Making new friends was important to me, and I never had difficulty meeting them..

My experience with making new friends actually started in the summer before the new college semester began. I went to an overnight college experience with my Mom and Dad. I made instant friends with a young man my age, CP, who was also going to start his Freshman year there. Since he lived locally, and his Mom worked on Campus as a department head secretary, I was able to meet his entire family. I also met my new friend, MW, originally from an Island off the East Coast of the Northern USA . I also met my Freshman "suite mates", in which we would eventually share together a household for nine months. The only way to keep in touch at that time before the semester began was by regular postal mail. This fostered my communication with the first male student that I met. To this day, I still have those letters.

I wanted my new "Home" to be a reflection of myself.I did the best I could with half a bedroom, one little closet, a shared living room, and a shared bathroom with three other girls my age. The items essential to me were: clock radio, my guitar, my new clothes and shoes, my books, my notebooks stuffed with my poetry, my favorite new bedding set, my stuffed bear ( a going away present, my new pillows, my address book and bathroom toiletries.

The first week of college was a blast! Mostly social events laced in between going to different orientation meetings in our designated class schedules. Wow! I didn't know that I was going to do so much walking. So my scheduling was on me- how long does it take to get from the dorm to the lecture halls? to the cafeteria? to the student lounge? Where would I go to get my supplies? My new friend knew the outlay of the campus well due to his sister also being students there.

MY HEART CHANGES

Before December, I wanted more to life than just going to college. I wanted to hang out with my new friends on the weekends. When I started to attend with my new girlfriend, LB, who was a Sophomore at the same college, a music therapy major, on Friday nights, Prayer and Worship Service, I met her friends who became significant to me. When attending that worship service, I made a request to God in prayer. I asked His Son Jesus into my life. Little did I know every experience would be different than before. My heart would change with one request and I was so overjoyed about it.

THE BIRTH OF A NEW SONG

I am so glad that I had brought my guitar to college. It was incorporated into a lot of the fellowship that I had with my new circle of friends. Just about everyone I met played an instrument, or had an appreciation for music. I did not hesitate to share my God given gift. I continued to write my poetry and my songs. The writing and playing of my music lead me to playing at the "Loft" which is a coffeehouse setting. I was able to perform one of my fresh new songs with my new friends at that coffee house. The original title to the song is called "Home". But now I want to call it "Where The Heart Is". Here are my Lyrics.

WHERE THE HEART IS

music and lyrics by Christina M Castro

They say,

"Home is where the heart is",

And Home is everywhere I go.

People I meet share my home

When they have no place to go.

People I meet become my friends

And my friends form a family.

My friends form a

Family which make my

Home for me.

For Friends form a family

And a Family fills a

Home And Home is

Everywhere I'll be

With My friends, my family.

My home's roof can be a blue sky

It's door can be a tree

But the door is always open,

So come in and visit me.

Let's decorate its walls

With happiness

And fill it with Love.

We'll Dance in the

Spirit In Our Home

That is

Blessed by

God Above.

And you are always welcome

In my Home

If you want to share

Joy and Peace

For Home is everywhere

I'll be

With my friends, my family.

I recorded this song on cassette tape for some of my friends from college, and I would be blessed if I knew if they had it still to listen to. I am blessed to have known someone to convert the cassette recording into CD which is not Copyrighted yet, so I can not share it with you. I have to contact somehow the young man who sang and played guitar with me on that day I was in the "Loft". I wrote the lyrics to this song two months after I publicly accepted Iesus into my heart. Salvation does bring spiritual gifts and blessings, and I believe my gift from God is in my songs and music.

copyright @2010 C M Castro

King David speaks what I believe is my goal in Psalm 104, verse 33:

"I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing Praise to God while I have my being."