Clara Winslow's Favourite Song

'Clara Winslow wins song of the year at Grammy Awards 2025', read the headline. She made it, I thought to myself before letting the overwhelming flood of memories take over.  

I was interning at a music summer camp when I first met Clara Winslow, a frail girl with freckled cheeks, long bronze hair and eyes so expressive they almost appeared animated. When I assigned the kids their first activity of the summer, I vividly recall how Clara's eyes lit up. 

'Listen to music across various genres, cultures, languages and pick your favourite song' , read the chalkboard behind me. 

It was quite a task to get the rest of the class started. Clara however, was a natural. I don't think she spent a minute without her headphones and notepad. That was the only time I interacted with the kids and although most were adorable, Clara Winslow left an impression instantly. 

Later that day and for every day since, I was assigned generic prep work so I barely saw the kids. 

I surely heard them often though, since the walls weren't exactly sound proof. When you're interning at a music camp, you get to hear a lot of music. It's especially magical when they sing in unison. Not because they have great voices, no not at all. It's in the way they sing like they're performing a divine act. They're so devoted to it and so in the moment, immersed in that particular note that its mesmerising. 

During the last camp week when I was reviewing essays, I was taken aback by the thought put behind each piece. Being music school students to the core, I had expected less enthusiasm for an essay contest. They surpassed my expectations by a lot, and then some more. While every one wrote passionately of their favourite song which was the topic, one essay stuck with me forever. 

"My Favourite Song - written by Clara Winslow

My favourite song leaves just enough room between two notes to fit me in. It stays with me long enough that I trust it with my emotions. My favourite song carefully tucks my memories, aspirations, longing in those spaces between its notes. Everything I have ever felt, everything I'm afraid I will feel is safely wrapped in the warmth of my favourite song. It is a comfort place I carry with me even in otherwise uncomfortable situations.

But most of all, my favourite song isn't a song at all. It is a concept. Perhaps if I wasn't deaf my essay would have been about one particular musical piece. 

When I feel uncertain of myself or when this world feels like too much, I put on my headphones and loop through any song at random. This makes me think of a day when I'll live to find out what my favourite song sounds like to the rest of the world. 

My favourite song tends to do that to me- giving me hope of a brighter tomorrow. I know for a fact that my favourite song doesn't exist today, for I haven't recorded one today. My favourite song is out there in my tomorrow, waiting to be written by me. And the world just feels bit better knowing this simple fact."

I remember reading it thinking, "This kid is going places". 

She couldn't hear her favourite song but the hope that she will someday made her make one instead.