A little less than a month ago, the anniversary of John Lennon's assassination was remembered, celebrated, and acknowledged. I knew about the anniversary because my acting class was performing a scene from "The Day They Shot John Lennon", and since my residence hall is two blocks from The Dakota Building (the place where John Lennon and his wife lived, he was shot in front of the entrance), my roommate, a good friend of ours, and I decided to visit the memorial and see the building where his wife still resides.

It was very cold, but New York Decembers aren't exactly known for being forgiving. Either way, all bundled up, we embarked on our journey. It didn't take long to get there, although it was very cold. At first we saw police lights, the ones they set up with generators, the ones that are blinding. At first we thought maybe something had happened nearby the memorial that might involve the police because there was also a quiet police presence surrounding the area. But we soon realized they were protecting the people at the memorial and lighting it for us.

Once we realized that, my friends and I made our way to Strawberry Fields where a crowd of people were huddled around the black and white, mandala-like memorial on the ground. from them came music, and a small band was scattered amongst civilians and singers alike. Some were playing strictly John Lennon songs from his solo career, and others were singing more well known Beatles songs. And even though it was about 8:00 o'clock at night, people were still coming around to drop off flowers, and pay their respects. In the center of the memorial, were several candles, and flowers laid ever so gently.

My friends and I spoke to some of the people there, who were as different as different could be, different ages, different ethnicities, different sexualities, even some were from different parts of the world, but they all had two things in common, they were all kind, and they were all brought together by music.

Some people even see each other every year at the memorial and are friends. This really taught me that music can really bring people together, even long after the artist is gone which is really a beautiful thing.

Overall my experience at the John Lennon memorial was raw, pure, and absolutely gorgeous. John Lennon was assassinated over 40 years ago and still people were celebrating his life, honoring him. Not only that, there was enough of people doing just that, that the police were protecting them. This experience is something I will think about, and remember for the rest of my life.

If you ever have the time, or are in New York on the anniversary, I strongly advise you pay a visit to Lennon's Memorial, especially if you are an artist of any kind.

I promise you that it will touch you more than my words could ever express.