Songs For Smiles

The show was excellent!

It was oddly warm outside for a November evening. As I walked across the Plaza, muffled sounds of acoustic guitar drifted my way. I followed the sounds and saw that the Atrium was lit up with twinkle lights and filled with smiling people. Where one could usually find a row of tables filled with students who are cramming before an orgo-chem exam while scarfing down a sandwich, was instead a small stage with a keyboard and three microphones. Operation Smile was hosting their “Songs for Smiles” event, complete with dinner foods, a photo booth, and live music. 

My roommate and I decided to join in for a few minutes so we could watch the performers. Such groups as Deadpan, featuring Andrew Abbensett, Kaleigh Young, and the Bright Red Cardinal gave uplifting and exciting performances. Some performed original songs, with only their guitar to accompany the freshly written poetry about home, while others jammed out to classics and pop with their friends.  Juliet Mengaziol, who performed as the finale act, sang three songs on her acoustic guitar. The first was a mashup of Adele’s well-known hit single “Someone Like You” with indie-artist Crywolf’s emotional song “Eye Half Closed.” The song was rich with emotion, putting a clever “emotional” twist on a  well known pop number. She then slowed it down with Natalie Imbruglia’s 1997 “Torn”. She finally wrapped up the evening with the uplifting song “Landslide” by Oh Wonder. After the campus had experienced heartbreak from the resulting violence across the nation following the election, the song was a beautiful part of Lincoln Center’s Healing Process.

A great evening for a great cause :)    
Overall, the event was a great way for Fordham students to come together to support Operation Smile, an non-profit organization which is dedicated to providing the world with life saving surgery, while also enjoying a wonderful sense of community.