One big Mixtape!

Happy Wednesday Everyone,

Yesterday, teachers received an email from the Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education which was to serve as encouragement for the work we've been doing so far this year and for the work we will continue to do through this pandemic.  The woman who sent the email created a "mixtape" for us with some encouraging and uplifting songs.  This was such a fun idea that brought me way back to my high school days when my friends and I regularly created mixtapes for ourselves and our friends.  

What, you ask, is a mixtape?  Well, it was basically a compilation of your favorite songs put together onto one cassette tape so that you could listen to all the best stuff without having to wade through all the boring songs on an album.  Mixtapes could also be a compilation of specific songs that might have a particular goal like helping one feel better after a break-up or pumping you up before the big game, or just reminding you of fun times as best friends!  Today you would just digitally drop your favorite songs into a folder and presto, a digital mix is born, but in the '90s this is what it looked like...  

In preparation for making a mix, this is what you started with...

This is what you finished with...

Making these mixes took a ton of time.  You had to have a double cassette player to be able to play one tape and record another at the same time...  

You had to figure out which songs you wanted, wade through your music collection then re-wind and fast-forward (a lot) to just the right spot on the cassette, make sure you had your blank tape set to just the right spot, and then carefully hit play and record on the two different sides at the exact same time.  You could usually fit about 10-15 songs on one side of a tape, then you could flip it and record on the other side too!  If you were making copies of the mix for all your friends, you could copy your mixtape to another blank tape, but you had to let them both play through fully to do that, which meant listening to the mix over and over.  The whole process took weeks!  You had to start early if you wanted to make tapes for your friends as a gift for the holidays or their birthday!  

Getting the email yesterday made me instantly regretful for throwing out all my mixed tapes when I moved into my first place after college.  I no longer had a "device" to play cassette tapes on, so I figured what's the use, but man those were good compilations of music and would have been an amazing piece of my personal history to hold on to.  

Since creating a digital play-list is so easy you are probably wondering, "what's the big deal with a mixtape?"  There were two things about them that really made them special in my mind.  One was the investment of your time and energy that really said to your friends, "I value you," and the other was the investment of your thoughts...what songs are just right?  What songs send the message I want to convey to my friend at this time or moment?  They were really an emotional investment in your friendship, the best treasure to receive, and the most fun to give!

I think this is why I link so many songs and videos for you all in my blog.  It's like a modern mixtape for all of you!  I try to pick out the perfect song the perfect moment or theme.  It's an investment of time and emotion for you all.  I hope that the songs I pick resonate with you and help you think more deeply about an issue or the moment we are all going through together.   

So since you are all my kiddos, I think I'll leave you a little 90s rock history with Sweet Child O'Mine from Alx Rose and his band, Guns and Roses, a little Wilson Philips, Hold On, and Green Day, Good Riddance.  You're welcome! 😏

Enjoy!  

Mrs. Hempey