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The Cello
Mia’s Mom and Dad met in their early twenties, when Dad was in a punk rock band. Unlike her parents, however, Mia’s love of the cello led her to classical music, her preferred genre. Classical music is what makes Mia feel unique, but it is also what makes her feel different, even within her own family. Her family is surprised by Mia’s affinity for the cello when she is young, but they soon come to realize that she has immense talent, and they support her music studies even if they can’t understand her choice of genre. Like Mom and Dad, Adam is also in a rock band, and Mia often feels out of place at his concerts and with his band mates, especially because she is quieter and more introverted than his loud, outgoing fans. For Halloween, Mia dresses up like Adam’s punk friends do—essentially crossing over from her world of classical music to the world of punk music—and feels more accepted by Adam’s community. However, Adam tells Mia that while he appreciates the effort, he likes her just the way she is. Mia ultimately comes to realize that it is a love for music, no matter the genre, that connects her to her family and to Adam.
Punk Rock and Classical Music Quotes in If I Stay
The If I Stay quotes below all refer to the symbol of Punk Rock and Classical Music. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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7:09 AM
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I know it’s silly but I have always wondered if Dad is disappointed that I didn’t become a rock chick. I’d meant to. Then, in third grade, I’d wandered over to the cello in music class—it looked almost human to me. It looked like if you played it, it would tell you secrets, so I started playing. It’s been almost ten years now and I haven’t stopped.
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8:17 AM
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As usual, there is a battle for stereo dominance. Mom wants NPR. Dad wants Frank Sinatra. Teddy wants SpongeBob SquarePants. I want the classical-music station, but recognizing that I’m the only classical fan in the family, I am willing to compromise with Shooting Star.
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9:23 AM
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Sometimes I did feel like I came from a different tribe. I was not like my outgoing, ironic dad or my tough-chick mom. And as if to seal the deal, instead of learning to play electric guitar, I’d gone and chosen the cello.
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5:42 AM
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So I played. And even though you wouldn’t think it, the cello didn’t sound half bad with all those guitars. In fact, it sounded pretty amazing.
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7:16 AM
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Yo-Yo Ma continues to play, and it’s like the piano and cello are being poured into my body, the same way that the IV and blood transfusions are. And the memories of my life as it was, and the flashes of it as it might be, are coming so fast and furious. I feel like I can no longer keep up with them but they keep coming and everything is colliding, until I cannot take it anymore. Until I cannot be like this one second longer.
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Punk Rock and Classical Music Symbol Timeline in If I Stay
The timeline below shows where the symbol Punk Rock and Classical Music appears in If I Stay. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
7:09 AM
...recall that Mom, a former rocker-chick, took time to warm up to Mia’s love of classical music and Mia’s “marathon” practice sessions. Then a crash sounds—it’s Teddy playing on Dad’s old...
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...and Henry, married friends of the family who used to be musicians in the same punk-rock scene as Mom and Dad. Though Mia knows that Adam is busy with his touring...
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9:23 AM
...parents’ subsequent apologies. Mia notes that she often feels out of place as a dark-haired classical music lover in a family of fair-haired punk rockers, and has sometimes wondered whether she...
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12:19 PM
...room, the doctors debate on what kind of music to play. Mia silently roots for classical, which they ultimately decide upon, though she is not too pleased with their selection of...
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3:47 PM
...Adam’s band’s shows, where he is the center of attention, surrounded by members of the punk scene. However, she loves to watch Adam play the guitar, even if she feels out...
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...not have developed to the extent that it did. Adam was able to bond over punk music with Mia’s Mom and Dad, and he even plays basketball with her Dad as...
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4:47 PM
...to their children as “accidents” or “mistakes.” Both of her parents were involved in the punk-music scene, and married young. Mia was conceived the night of one of Mia’s parent’s friend’s...
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5:40 PM
...of attending another one of Adam’s shows, where she feels out of place in the punk scene. When Adam leaves Mia’s house, Mia is left wondering yet again why Adam is...
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...shopping and digs out her clothes from when she was Mia’s age to create a punk ensemble. When Mia dons a blond wig, she notes that for the first time, she...
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After the show, Mia asks Adam if he prefers her punk-rock persona to her quiet classical music personality. Adam replies that while he appreciates her attempting...
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7:13 PM
...divided into two groups, such as people who like pop music and people who like classical music, or girls who have boyfriends in high school, and girls who don’t. As Mia...
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10:40 PM
...Peter Hellman from camp, who died of lymphoma. A friend of the family from the punk music scene, Kerry Gifford, died of a freak brain aneurysm while operating the soundboard for...
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2:48 AM
...as finally learning how to drive a car (rather than bicycling everywhere) and exchanging his punk-rock wardrobe with a vintage buttoned-up style from the 1950s. He goes back to school and...
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