Music Mosaic

I have chosen Petrovich Mussorgsky's The Great Gate of Kiev as my musical portion of the music mosaic. Please excuse my potential slaughtering of MLA formatting, but Purdue lead me to believe classical pieces were italicized, not quotationed. So please blame them and take a listen here.
If this song does not play out as I walk into those pearly gates of heaven, I will be extraordinarily disappointed. On a more serious note, this epitomizes to me the journey of life. The joy and exaltation of the brass in the beginning and end bring tears to my eyes, as birth and death surely will. The internal section has many hints of the glory and musical clarity seen in the introduction, but there are also great moments of heaviness and dissonance, just as life in between birth and death are.
When Modest Mussorgsky wrote this piece, he was composing many little songs which he entitled Pictures at an Exhibition. Each piece within this group was composed to musically illustrate the work of artist and architect Viktor Hartmann. This particular song was based off this painting:

Because of this history and my own personal interpretation, I have decided to make my mosaic portion paintings of each stage of life.
Shazam.

Numbers indicate time progression. Who puts mosaics in order?

When we enter this earth, we are given an identity right off. A footprint unique to each person and a gender that helps us discover our true self. Then come the terrible two's: the constant crying and the struggle to understand a new setting and body. By the time kindergarten starts, the little spirit within has become accustomed to its new place in the world and is now off to make its mark in it, one piece of heartfelt art pieces at a time. 

Then come the murky prepubescent and teenage years. While the previous three paintings are pretty self explanatory (as life then is pretty self explanatory), the teenage painting is more abstract. The colors clash with each other, it isn't oriented the same as the others, and it contains a triangle which is the most uncomfortable shape for the eye. It also has a handprint cut off at the edges. During the teenage years, everything on your body becomes uncomfortable. "What should I do with my hands and why are they suddenly so big? Huh, I seem to remember going to bed three inches shorter." and etcetera etcetera. Everyone tries to discover their individuality, but seem to be cut off by the black cloud of sheep think. The desire to fit in the lines outweighs that of true self expression. Like the dissonant areas in the song, these times are often painful.

Then comes the period I myself am currently in: the college years. I chose my own face as a canvas because I believe this is a time of opportunity and uncertainty. The final picture isn't clear, or the color combination. Technology runs rampant and socializing is of highest importance, which is why my picture is on an iPad with a Facebook popup on top. The future is chaotic and uncertain, and this is only the beginning, which leads us to our next phase: Adulthood.

Adulthood is shown with a centered heart and paint splatters surrounding. At the center of your life in adulthood is often family and love, though chaos reigns supreme. There are some mundane aspects, like a white background or daily work routine, but it's also filled with color and joy. 

Next comes old age, the fall of life. Covered with leaf stamps, this painting has much more texture than the others, as the elderly have much more character and wisdom than those younger than them. The colors aren't as vivid, but there are definitely still some areas of flair.

Finally is the cloud painting. Death is a great unknown, but there is a wonderful peace to be found in it. Like the grand entrance of The Great Gate of Kiev, the ascent into heaven will be nothing short of glorious, and hopefully met with thunderous, unison brass.