Sometimes heroes come from the darkest of places. Places that are a spoon-fed to you as a child in such a way that you never can get the bitter taste out of your mouth. Then one day, with a swig of patron and a dash of dreams, you realize that the heroes you saw as a child are not heroes at all, but rather a projection of what pushes you forward to find what you want out your time here on Earth. 

One of the most important things in my life, Seth Morrison would recall, is music. As a child he thought Bach and Beethoven and Chopin were the people that hand picked the stars in the sky for everyone else to admire. Growing up in a family, which does not value pop culture, causes one to find heroes that only exist in the memory of those long dead. You can look at paintings of them, but through their music you create a painting all your own.

His fingers pressed the three keys on the brass trumpet that was shining in some places and dull in the places that hands caressed. His fingers pushing down the keys one, two, three at a time. 

“I wanted to play the trumpet because it only had three keys so I thought that’s all I had to worry about.” 

And even though he was wrong, he never gave up on the instrument even after changing his major from music to theater. His dream is not to be an actor, but someone behind the scenes that works in the catwalks and paints the scenery that sets the mood.

Some of his favorite nights are those spent under stadium lights when the weather starts to turn into fall. He and the other members of the band wearing the white uniform with purple and yellow stripes with the Ashland University logo placed opposite the heart. The trumpet section blaring over the crowd while children scream and students huddle in their fleece blankets to keep warm in the stands. 

“It really is a shame you can’t do anything with a bachelors degree in music.” 

As a child, there was not much to do in the Morrison house. Game Boys and other video games were banned, the only music allowed was contemporary Christian and classical and the internet was limited to one half hour a day. There were no television shows to be watched, no movies with immoral values and definitely nothing with references to witchcraft. So when the average 5th grader was reading Harry Potter, Seth Morrison was reading books that taught good value and behavior. 

Church was to be attended every week with no exceptions. The nondenominational Pentecostal church was fairly close to home. Sometime the congregation would speak in tongues and Morrison would cringe and want to leave. As the years went by he was allowed to pick his own church, and in exchange for going his parents would provide him gas money that would get him to school and to see his friends. “So I picked a church close to home and would sit in the back and text.” And that was the sacrifice made to be just a little be more independent.  

Later in high school he would be seen bagging groceries and assisting customers at a local IGA. He would request to work every Sunday so that he would have an excuse to never attend church. His priorities had become theater and his trumpet. 

After signing up on a whim as a freshman, Seth Morrison began learning about theater lighting. He took charge and excelled in the craft while helping the school fix their broken and aging lights along the way. Even at a small high school, with his graduating class being 200, he found his niche. 

Coming to Ashland was an easy decision. 

“I was looking at West Virginia University. I got into the marching band there but when it came down to it, walking around both campuses… and I really feel stupid for saying this now… but I felt better here.” 

Ashland had a lot to offer. Small classes, small majors, big exciting opportunities that you didn’t have to try out for and core classes that were taught by professors with Ph.D.’s. Although he isn’t favorable of the way administration treats students, Ashland has become home. 

At AU, there are no parents breathing down your shoulder about what you should and should not do. There are no rules about going to church or being home by midnight. “The only thing missing is dad’s home cooked food that I admit tastes better than anything in convo”. Homemade pasta and pizza that took hours to prepare with such love can never beat what comes out of a can from Sysco. 

“Strict parents make sneaky kids” was Morrison’s reply when I asked why he and his sister, a freshman in high school, were not as conservative has their parents. All it takes is one new friend to convince you that alcohol really isn’t that bad to change a young adults view on the world forever. He likes that his sister is becoming more and more like him and less and less like their parents. Morrison has seen his parents pray a thousand times more than they’ve taken a sip of alcohol. Maybe things could’ve been worse for him and his siblings, but for a teenager it made sneaking around even more fun.

In high school, Morrison was diagnosed with chronic depression that was partly caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain and in theory partly caused by being so sheltered. After antidepressants did not work, music, theater and the occasional drink with good friends was the cure to all aliments. 

To many, college is a first home away from home that begs you to dig deep down and find your true calling. Everyone switches his or her major, one, two, or even maybe three times. Everyone learns that there is no time for laundry but all the time in the world to make the bond with your group of friends stronger. Papers are best written with a beer in hand, and when your parents call there is finally a choice to hit the ignore button.