music awards

Congratulations, Belvedeer.

People have different opinions on the concept of “awards.” The idea of publicly showing appreciation towards a particular person, group or institution sits well with most people, yet there are particular mindsets that label these proceedings as unnecessary. Henry Rollins (of the Rollins Band) even went off to declare that award ceremonies are ridiculous, as he will not accept one artist telling another my art is better than your art, as concretized by some so and so trophy.

I do understand the Henry Rollins perspective, though it would be a hypocrisy on my part to say that I don’t feel good whenever I get one of these things. To think that awards revolve around the kudos is rather shallow. In contrast, I view that the congratulatory nature of the process is outdone by the recognition that an awardee can receive for a job well done. It’s all about being recognized, about being respected for a certain act of rigor, as opposed to just simply basking in a shower of back-pats.

So there are big awards, and there are small awards. I must admit that browsing through them feels like a time-machine ride of sorts. The actual plaques take me back to the hurdles I had to jump through, and the solutions that led me to little successes.

I just happened to come across old certificates and tokens while tidying up my table this afternoon. I guess that’s where I got the inspiration for this entry. I would like to note though, that in spite of the unearthing of several items reflective of achievement in both academe and career, it was this award that made me smile the most:

There were awards that I’ve received, there were the ones that I’ve missed.  Most elders around here will say that I’ve let pass some of the more important ones, the awards that matter. They’d say that this toy blackboard trophy was given in humor, a reminder of something relatively insignificant.

So I was not a Latin awardee back in college (I had too much fun), and I did not get 1st place in that science contest back in grade school (Harold Luy was better). But this award here has got to be my favorite. Yes, it’s a toy trophy, but for me  this is one of those that count the most. This one matters. This one simply rocks.