Celebrating and Spreading Culture through Song
East Senior Jasmine Budler performed for the grand opening ceremony of the Lincoln Chinese Academy at ConnectioN Point–1333 N. 33rd Street–on Sunday, October 8th. She combined her singing experience with her interest for the Chinese language by singing a song called, “Moonlight Represents My Heart.”
This classic Chinese tune expresses one’s love by comparing the romantic passion to the moon’s luminosity, the general message being, “If you doubt my love for you, just look at the moon.” Budler delivered the beautiful melody without accompaniment as a lovely transition to the second portion of the ceremony.
She began singing when she was only five years old, developing her voice through opera lessons. She sang competitively until she was fourteen. She plans to major in East Asian Language, hoping to use her knowledge by teaching abroad and/or become a translator.
To satisfy her interest in Chinese, Budler began taking the language as a sophomore. As she has become invested with the culture–along with the encouragement from the Chinese teacher Ms. Xu– she has decided to pursue this passion beyond high school. She plans to major in East Asian Language, hoping to use her knowledge by teaching abroad and/or become a translator. “Seeing how others succeed can help us solve our own struggles.” — Jasmine Budler
Budler enjoys local events that spread diversity. She believes that learning about other cultures is important to understand that “we aren’t the only ones in the world. By studying them, we can incorporate some of their cultures into our own. Seeing how others succeed can help us solve our own struggles.”
