As old artifacts were uncovered, more memorabilia has been added to each Westra Sibling box. Jen had taken quite a bit of music when she moved out, but some of her original compositions from PTA Reflections contests over the years hadn't made it out of the Westra home. It was fun to get the actual music (printed and cassette recordings) to look at and listen to some 35-40 years later. Would you believe Jen still remembers the songs she wrote way back when?
The first official music entry was in 1985 ... the theme was "What Sparks My Imagination?" Jen was in the 8th grade, 14 years old. Writing the lyrics and the melody for piano was no issue, it was getting the musical notation written down on paper that was the problem. Music theory, notes/timing had always been a bit of a struggle. The collage below shows some of the steps and progress, the handwriting and piano penmanship, along with the final result and entry info ... the song was recorded on submitted on cassette tape.
The lyrics ... (Verse 1) "
I see a cloud, floating by. I see a rainbow way up high. When suddenly in the back of my mind, my imagination sparks, it's one of a kind. (Chorus) W
hat sparks my imagination? What makes it burn? What sparks my imagination? What makes it flow? What makes it glow? What makes it grow? (Verse 2)
My imagination sees some things, and then it flies upon it's wings. It turns some words into a song, and then I sing it all day long. (Chorus)
What sparks my imagination? What makes it burn? What sparks my imagination? What makes it flow? What makes it glow? What makes it grow?" The recorded submission was just the piano ... no singing? Was Jen not confident enough in her voice? Was it written out of range? 37 years after the fact, Jen went ahead and re-recorded the song, with singing this time (going with the lower harmonies, because yes, it's too high in some places), just for this blog post, adapted for youtube (as sharing just audio is trickier than sharing a video). See/listen
HERE.
With that first music entry done ... Jen came up with a song for Reflections for the next three years. In 9th grade, the theme was "From Liberty's View". Won at the school level and went on to region, and was asked to perform the song at 9th grade promotion/graduation at the end of the year.
The lyrics ... "
If you will listen, you'll hear her calling you. And you might think, that she is just a statue. But she's part of me, and she can be part of you. She can see us all, we're all in Liberty's view. And so are the oceans, and so are the skies, so are the mountains, and so am I. And so are you, and everything you do. Let's make her proud. Let's make her proud. Won't you believe, she's a part of you, she's a part of me. Then you might too, realize, she's calling you." Audio from the original submission can be found
HERE.
Jen's sophomore year (1986-1987) the Reflections theme was "A Past to Remember, a Future to Mold" which must have been especially inspiring, because Jen wrote TWO songs that year! Definitely some oversinging on the original audio. Not sure which song was written first, or which did better in the competition. The two songs were "What is Tomorrow" and "A Past to Remember, a Future to Mold" and both songs have been added to the family youtube after having the audio transferred from the original cassette tapes.
The final song was for the 1987-1988 school year. Jen was a junior. The Reflections theme was "Wonders of the World". Interesting to mark the change in handwriting and how the notes and other musical markings are written. This cassette tape wasn't with the others, but a later pile of "Jen's stuff" had an envelope with this entry, and the cassette tape with original audio. Listen HERE. Jen performed this song at a school assembly (picture in the yearbook of her at the piano).
No entry senior year ... but there with all the "Jen's Stuff" were a bunch of papers and poems. There was one poem that Jen had a distinct memory of also being a song for Reflections. It would have been back in 1981-1982. Jen was in 5th grade and the Reflections theme was "What Makes Me Smile?" Too intimidated by the music entry process (writing the music down, recording it) ... Jen simply submitted the poem in the literature category instead of music. 40 years later, Jen could still recall the simple tune though. So, just for fun, and for the first time ... it's been recorded HERE.
Will Jenna remember her song submission in 40 years? Wendy did a write up of her Reflections win on the Jenson Journal (school win, region win) and while the PTA had the song posted online for a bit, the school link is no longer working, so the song is saved in Dropbox, and on Youtube (here).
Janika also wrote a song in 2009 ... WOW was the theme. You can hear it HERE. One might wonder if Janika has shared this song with her husband (yes, she has) ... as this cute melody recounts the wonder of a cute boy ;) Sounds like it's out of a Broadway musical.
Here's a list of all the PTA Reflections themes from the past years ...
I THINK all the musical entries have been addressed here. Derek has been very musical in his later years, but I don't believe there was ever a music composition entry for Reflections. He did get a ribbon for a picture he took (see
HERE). Aniston entered in 2021, also in photography ...
The Reflections categories have changed some over the years, with new additions of Dance Choreograph and Film Production (Jaiden entered in dance in 2014). Wendy wrote up all the Reflections experiences for her kids on her blog, check them out: 2014, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008.
