Why We Started

My grandmother moved to the U.S. 18 years ago with my mother who came to the country to study. My grandma left her entire life behind. Her job, friends, and family. She completely began her life anew in this foreign country. She couldn’t speak the language and she knew no one. To this day the few people she knows in this country are house aids given to her by the government. She sometimes talks about the loneliness she has been feeling for the past 20 years. Back in the city, she says she at least had a TV and her home attendant to speak to, but since isolating herself due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she has had no interaction with anyone besides my family. She says that the feelings of isolation and loneliness she is feeling because of quarantine are almost unbearable. I realized that many seniors must be feeling the same way, which inspired me to start Music With You. My grandmother loves to listen to me play the piano, saying it brightens her day. Music With You aims to alleviate these feelings of loneliness caused by quarantine, through virtual music performances. We hope that our performances will remind seniors who feel alone, that even if we can’t be with them in person, we are always thinking of them and wish them the best.