Life in Alto Clef
Not many people at the law school know that I play the viola. It is not something that comes up in conversation very often, since law students - myself included - tend only to discuss schoolwork or other things related to the law. Nevertheless, I have been thinking a lot about how important the viola has been in my life. I was principal violist in the orchestra for two years in university, and regularly volunteered to play for other students' recitals, pit orchestra for musicals, and other musical events. Oftentimes, when I tell people that I play the viola, the response I get is, "did you start on the violin?" My answer is usually an overly emphatic "NO!" While it is true that if you play one of these instruments, you can easily pick up the other, I will always be a violist first and foremost.
What I love about the viola is that it is an instrument primarily used for harmonizing. It does not always stand out, but if the viola part is missing, an orchestral piece loses a lot of its depth. That being said, the viola can also be an excellent solo instrument. Just listen to Viola Sonata in E flat major, Op. 120 no. 2 (here) by Johannes Brahms, particularly the second movement (allegro appassionato)!
In a way, my choice back in the third grade to play the viola instead of the violin speaks to how I see myself. I am often a mediator, someone who brings harmony to a group and works to resolve any conflicts. Violists read music in the alto clef. Whereas the treble clef is used for higher pitched instruments like the violin, and the bass clef is used for lower pitched instruments like the cello and the tuba, the alto clef sits somewhere in the middle.
I see the world in alto clef. What I mean is that I think it is incredibly important to see the grey areas of complex issues, which often is done more easily when standing from the middle ground. Life in alto clef means envisioning a world where diverse communities can live together in harmony. There are certain problems within our communities that create disharmony. Disharmony is when you meet a woman in the U.S. Navy on your weekend trip to Klaipėda and she explains to you that because of her gender, she is taken less seriously at work than she would be if she were a man. Disharmony is strangers still having the audacity to scream "konnichiwa", "nihao", or even racial slurs at me when I walk down a street. Disharmony is particular communities that have less access to justice simply because of the color of their skin or where they live. Whenever I get discouraged by something during law school, I remind myself not only of the micro-level reasons why I chose this profession, but also the macro-level reasons: to promote harmony and flourishing. In order to achieve this goal, one must be in tune with the various factors that lead to disharmony. I hope that with each passing week of this internship, I will become more and more in tune with the legal and political challenges that people living in Lithuania face.
Over the weekend, Beth and I took a short trip to Klaipėda, a city on the coast of the Baltic Sea. For me, the highlight of the trip was ferrying over to the Curonian Spit, a sand dune peninsula that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and taking a refreshing bike ride. We saw sand dunes, the forest, and beaches along the way. We even stumbled upon a nude beach, which was quite the experience. We ended up stopping on a different beach since we preferred remaining clothed, and enjoyed a few hours just relaxing. The sand was fine and silky smooth, and the water was so clear. All in all, our weekend in Klaipėda was a great way to clear our minds before another busy week.
Yesterday, Beth and I received some surprising news. The short GDPR memo we drafted that was supposed to be a "GDPR for Dummies" used by practitioners? Well, the coordinators of the NarcoMap project in Italy want us to expand the guide to something closer to twenty pages! While this task seems daunting, it is also nice to know the work we have been doing is substantive, and has a reach as far as Italy. I am looking forward to expanding the guide as Beth and I continue to familiarize ourselves with the details of the GDPR. Things have been getting busier as we get closer to the Annual Baltic Criminologists Seminar - there is still so much to accomplish before then. Beth and I have been given the task of interviewing our presentation speakers so that we can create profiles of their academic background and seminar topics, which will be part of the Lithuanian Society of Criminology's advertising campaign. As the conference speakers will be coming from many different countries that all speak different languages, we will be conducting interviews in English, and then our interviews will be translated into Lithuanian to be published in newspapers and other media. While I could easily spiral into panic over feeling wholly unprepared, I remind myself of something else that playing the viola has taught me: you often have to improvise!