The first concert I attended was Metallica. Although I had not been born yet I was still technically there, jamming along as my mother nervously tried to protect me from the wildness of the mosh pit. My parents made sure I was well read when it came to music, and made sure I appreciated it no matter the genre. My knowledge of music helped me grow and learn as a person, and helped me realize my dream to create and teach as music has taught me.
Since I was a child I knew I wanted to play an instrument. At the time I wanted to be in orchestra, probably the bass because it was the biggest and looked cool. I had the idea of orchestra until time to sign up. My mother said band would be more fun. I could march and wear cool hats with giant feathers. After some convincing I agreed to join band. While mouth piece testing I soon took a liking to flute. It was small and girly so it seemed cool. To my disappointment I was given a trumpet, and sat beside the rest of the section which was all boys. My fifth grade self was disgusted. How dare they sit me with these stinky boys?
The person I am knew that I made a commitment, so I had to stick with it. Soon enough I came to realize the boys were not that bad and I got to avoid the drama within the other more girl dominated sections. As the years went by I fell in love with the trumpet, so by eighth grade I was ready and signed up for marching band. For someone who did not really know anything about marching band I was surprised at exactly all the work and time was put forth by everyone. Two weeks of band camp, twelve hours a day, hot sun and a precise regiment that must be followed or you mess everything up. Not to mention memorizing and play music simultaneously . I soon realized I became apart of something amazing, something that would challenge, push and make me a better person.
My first show was called “The Secret”. An idea that focused on the secret to happiness and success. I learned a lot that year, but most of all I learned responsibility. I had a job, a job to learn the music, play it well and learn where I am supposed to be on the field. I could not let my my band family down (or embarrass myself in front of the seniors) so I did my best to put myself on their level.
By the next year I had improved a lot, as a musician and a person. My band friends are people I knew would be my friends forever. To be linked to so many people all over the world always gave me a sense of security. Anywhere there are people playing musical instruments, so we can talk about our experiences and our struggles we commonly faced. The music gets harder every year and takes a lot to stand and work in the humid, hundred degree weather. Only a select group of people are disciplined enough to take these responsibilities. Yet, through it all I pushed through and do the best I could. And the hard work shows on how well the band did in competitions.
For years the Viking band did not do well when it came to competition. They had a bad reputation and those titles stick. So when I joined we had to work extra hard, and by the fourth year we had it. The band finally saw what they had to do to win and we did it. All these experiences have thought me so much. About responsibility and communication, things I would not have had without band.
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