Music & Its Impact on My Life
My dad has always said that I was singing before I was talking and dancing before I was walking. Any person that knows me knows that I am always singing, even if it’s terribly off-pitch. Anyone driving by me would turn to see a teenage girl headbanging and dancing behind the wheel (probably not the safest way to drive, but the most fun way nonetheless). Walking on the sidewalk, I always hum a tune to the beat of my footsteps against the pavement.
If it isn’t clear enough yet, music is my driving force.
Being so enthusiastic about music, it didn’t take long for me to pick up an instrument. At the mere age of five years old, I began studying the violin. I would take weekly violin lessons learning all of the songs in Suzuki’s etude books. In elementary school, I joined an orchestra, and our army of forty children playing out-of-tune classical music was surely a sight to behold. While our orchestra was by no means excellent, or even good, for that matter, it sparked my love of making music alongside others.
Fast forward to fifth grade, I began to play the flute in the school band. My band teacher, Mrs. Holloway, saw something in me and encouraged me to pick up private lessons. So in the summer after elementary school, that’s exactly what I did. After two years of juggling the violin and flute, I divorced the violin and committed to the flute full time. Ever since then, I’ve been studying privately with that same instructor that I started with during the summer before sixth grade.
I’ve come a long way since I picked up the flute in fifth grade. I have dedicated hours and hours each week to improving and perfecting the skill. While I am by no means a master now, the amount of progress I have made is a source of pride for me. Today, I play in a symphony orchestra alongside other high school musicians that are all dedicated to their instrument. Being a part of this orchestra is magical for me—I find it absolutely amazing how beautiful a chorus of instruments can sound. My orchestra experience has definitely come a long way since the elementary school orchestra I was first a part of.
When I started high school was when I discovered the entirely new world of marching band. It is well known that marching band students have a negative, almost cringe-worthy reputation. It was for this reason that I was not excited to be a part of it coming into my freshman year. The only reason I had stuck with it was mostly because my flute teacher refused to allow me to quit. But boy, am I ever so thankful that I didn’t. Marching band has been one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Besides meeting many of my closest friends through it, spending countless hours rehearsing, performing, and competing showed me the incredible outcome that results from many individuals putting in hard work to come together and make something beautiful.
Singing, dancing, playing in an orchestra, marching on the football field—whatever it may be, music has shaped the person I’ve become. If I have any superpower, it’s taking black dots and lines on a page and turning them into something beautiful. Making music has taught me incredible life lessons, the key one being perseverance and practice. Through pushing my boundaries to learn pieces I never thought I could, I’ve found both a home and an escape in music.