Bram the Lamb

Bram grew up in a small cottage on the sea coast of Yorkshire, or, at least, that's how I imagine it. It was there that he learned to bass, and he learned to bass well. He's been bassing since the age of about 5, and I don't think he's stopped ever since. He takes that skill with him to orchestra every week.

We've become good friends in the time I've known him. Bram will frequently tell me stories from his youth in the small bay town of Nürburg, or teach me small tidbits of musical theory, or even go off on a tangent after I ask him, "How does I slap bass?" He's never afraid to voice his opinion, unless someone hears it and questions him about it.

Bram's greatest trait is his uniqueness. Nobody can compare, and that doesn't bother him in the slightest. You notice him when he walks in a room, and he brightens any conversation with a story or a joke, anything to make somebody laugh.

Knowing him as well as I do, he reveals to me frequently that he yearns to return home to Belgium, in fact nearly every day. It's these small insights into his psyche that make me feel like I'm connected in some way to him, as if we're blood brothers.

Bram is easily relatable to the color orange. Not only does he seem to enjoy wearing it, but he embodies it. Bram is a guy who stands out (in the best way), and orange does the same. It's associated with enthusiasm, fascination, creativity, and determination, all traits that Bram has an abundance of.

In 5 years Bram will either be a member of an up-and-coming atonal sludge metal band, or finishing his educational career whilst studying abroad. It's quite a conundrum, though I suppose he could always pursue the former as a hobby at the same time.

If he magically turned into an animal one day, possibly from dark necromancy, I'd wager Bram would turn into a lamb. Not only do they rhyme, but he can also be a little sheepish(ba-dum-psh) at times. This doesn't stop him from expressing himself though, and any shyness is quickly overcome by pig-squeals of joy.

Sitting next to Bram this semester has been great. I look forward to another one. I hope to visit him in the Netherlands when I'm older, and when he's returned home where he truly belongs.