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’ve always imagined it to be a hot early
summerday. The sun had just dawned in the east and the birds were singing in
the trees in their full glory. But I can’t remember anything of the weather
really, the curtains were closed when I first saw the world. Still, it was a
beautiful place were I arrived at that day and I cried loud so everyone
would be sure that I was there. It was exactly one minute past ten when I
came upon the earth, but my parents ignored the minute: they thought I would
always be too late. Thus the register says Niek van Uden, born the 7th of
June 1984 at 10.00h.
Fortunately there was no Big Brother watching me that first year. I was
happy and cried out to the world all the time how much I liked being
around, though my parents somehow misjudged the crying as something
annoying. They stayed on top of the stairs just outside my room until they
thought I was asleep. I usually wasn't and cried out the moment I heard
them trying to descend as quietly as possible on the old creaking ladder.
I grew up, as happens with all children. I had a little baby-sister just
before we moved out of our first house. No longer the large garden I was
used to, no longer the dampy rooms and corners full of spiderwebs. We said
goodbye to everyone and went to a better place. I was to sit in the front
of the truck that moved our stuff and felt like conquering the world. Our
new house would be the scene of my further childhood. From elementary
school to highschool I stayed there. There were many more children in the
streets here, I played with them, stayed with them in the small playgarden
and when I grew older we played football, or should I say soccer, at the
field. It must have been in this house I had two important items that
would change my life: my first accordion, and my first computer.
The first one was my accordion, a gift from my parents, who thought that
music was part of the education. I was given the choice of one instrument,
and I chose accordion. I still don’t know why actually, I suppose I liked
the sound of it or I liked the teacher, a lovely young lady, so much. But
I chose it, and since then there hasn’t been anything I’ve done so much
everyday so regulary. No other fantasy project, computer game or imaginary
play was able to rival with it. It will probably be my future or if you
wish destiny to play, bring music to the stage.
There was of course that second item, a 286 green-black monitor featured
computer. I had wonderful times playing simple games like Digger and
Pacman, but the thing broke down in the end, and we had a new one from an
uncle, this was with colours and more games and it cost me a lot of free
time.
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Highschool came, and being the best of my year with barely any faults in a
major test which basically decided your next career step, I went to the
Gymnasium, or Grammar School as some call it. It had seemed the most logic
step, my parents had been there as well, and I didn’t like the atmosphere
of the other school communities, consisting of thousands of pupils in
classes with ugly furniture and weird teachers.
Now the Gymnasium seemed like a good choice, though
I couldn’t find my way blindfolded at the beginning as I
should be able later. To a 12 year old boy, the building was huge,
with all kinds of different wings, different teachers and different
pupils, though it was and still is one of the smallest schools in the
city. Six years it was my second-most visited place and those six have
have moulded the eager young brain into what it would become day:
open-minded, hungry for knowledge, lover of classical culture and art in
general.
I couldn't choose after highschool: my love was music and writing, but my
courses were physics and math. Having visited all technical universities
to no avail I chose the Conservatory (Music College), which I will finish
this year (2006). At the same time I started at
University, starting in Communication and Information Studies but quickly
changing to Cultural Studies, which was much more to my liking after all.
The combination of a practical professional education and academic courses
on the side has proven to be very fruitful, but very busy as well, taking
away some years from Santharia. But we're catching up... |
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