At the end of November, I had the privilege of performing in the school play, 13 the Musical. I’m not really too much of an actor or singer, but it was amazing to be up there on the stage, romping around and dancing and singing my heart out. It was my first time being in a show where I actually had lines! (Out of a grand total of three shows, to be fair.) It was overall a great experience.
And then, the next week, I lost my voice.
It could’ve been far worse. I didn’t ever lose it all in one shot; I can still talk and be heard. But my voice seems to fluctuate between the levels of “weaker than usual” and “so scratchy and rough that you could make sandpaper with it.” I certainly won’t be doing any more serious singing for a while. I know it wasn’t just the play: it was probably a combination of the play, the cold weather, and perhaps eating too much at Thanksgiving. (Just kidding…about that affecting my voice. But I did eat far too much at my cousins’ house in Woodmere when we went for the holiday. Doesn’t everyone?)
I’m certainly happy that I lost my voice after the play ended, Baruch Hashem. Imagine if I had been about to say my line in the show and it came out sounding like I ran it through a trash compactor! But on a more serious note, it does make it harder for me to talk and express myself. For instance, on the bus recently, someone was telling a story about how he’s always asked if he’s related to people in Englewood who have the same last name as him. I wanted to mention how there’s another Oppenheim family in Fair Lawn, and we’ve occasionally nearly been given the books they ordered at the library! However, when I began to talk, here’s approximately what came out of my mouth: “Hey, there’s COUGH COUGH COUGH [scratchy voice that sounds like a serial killer’s in a horror movie] a family in Fair Lawn…”
And in addition to my un-angelic voice, of course I’ve got the requisite cough/cold/runny nose that seems to plague me every winter. The cold and I have never been the best of friends, and this year it’s particularly treating me badly. Just wait until it starts snowing and we need to break out the shovels. Admittedly I do look forward to snow days, getting a chance to be off from school. But it also means spending hours shoveling the white stuff off the sidewalks and out of the driveway in the cold. (If I were writing this in California or Florida, to be fair, I might be complaining that there’s no snow. But I have the zechut to be writing this in the tundra of Northern New Jersey, so…)
A side note about shoveling, or lack thereof: My Ramaz friends who live in New York City have for the most part never experienced the “joys” of snow shoveling. They’ve always had someone from the city or apartment staff clear the sidewalks, which to be fair I guess makes sense if you’re in an apartment. (Otherwise who would do it? Would they need to have a rotation system or something? “Bob, your turn to shovel!” “Come on, it’s Marissa’s turn!”) To be fair, it takes far more snow to shut down New York, so you’d expect that they’d have fewer snow days…but if there’s a snow day in Jersey, Ramaz accommodates the commuters by closing school, so they get the snow days anyway. Maybe they could come over during the extra snow days they wouldn’t have gotten without me and other Jerseyans, and help us shovel!
So what can I do to withstand winter, besides bundling up and wrapping my head in fifty wool scarves? Winter and cold aren’t issues I can take up an activist agenda against, after all. They’re natural, unavoidable parts of life. And winter can have a lot of merits too. The sight of a fresh snowfall, where the white powder has yet to be disturbed by anyone’s footprint, is one of the most stunning things I’ll get to see all year. And bring on the hot cocoa! (I’d yell that out, but I’d start coughing.)
What I’ll keep telling myself is that the cold season will eventually be over. It’ll be a few harsh months, but like everything else in life, it’ll come to an end and then it’ll be warm again. I don’t have any more school musicals in my schedule for a while, so it’s probably okay if my voice takes somewhat of a vacation. And obviously, I should try to look at the bright side and see the enjoyable parts of winter as well. You could look at all of this as a profound life philosophy or just as an idea to help me get through the cold. I can certainly apply it to more than just winter (such as a little something called junior year).
Plus, to be fair, shoveling is an excellent workout! It’s just like lifting weights, isn’t it?
Oren Oppenheim, age 17, is a junior at Ramaz Upper School in Manhattan and lives in Fair Lawn, New Jersey. He spends his free time writing and reading, and hopes to become a published novelist. You can email him at [email protected].
By Oren Oppenheim
