My life's ensemble |
I love reading and playing card games, like and any young person, but more than anything, I love music. Music is my passion and when I am not practicing a multitude of different instruments, I am listening to anything from Bach to Sinatra to Megadeath. I love all kinds of music and I’m constantly either listening to the radio or playing random tunes in my head.
In school I have come to want to have a specific image of me rather than worry about my academics. I have never struggled with school and have instead come to the conclusion that I want people to view me a certain way. I want to be a leader, a musician, a Christian and a friend, meaning that I want to act in a way that most people are comfortable around and find helpful in everyday situations. In April of 2002, at the age of five, I was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL). My life changed drastically. I went from running around outside every day to barely having time or energy to leave the hospital. I missed the majority of my early schooling years in 1st and 2nd grade, and was therefore playing catch-up so as not to fall behind. I am now graduating with four AP classes under my belt, an Argus Press issue for student of the month, and an Academic Prestige Award to attend Michigan State University in the Fall of 2016. I will graduate from MSU with a bachelor’s degree in Music Education and in Music Performance. |
An arpeggio through high school
“Where words leave off, music begins.”
|
My life has been greatly influenced by music. I’ve grown to find music as my passion and my future career. I have watched and interacted with our band director Thomas Cousineau for four years and have seen his ability to use music as a teaching tool that involves leadership, responsibility and respect. Through my four years I have come to realize that I want to follow music and teaching in an effort to become a music director and band teacher for High School and Collegiate level students.
|
My Cadenza
I TAKE PRIDE IN MY WRITING. I have always enjoyed writing, especially essays, and was able to perform at Dessert With Young Artists. I performed my original villanelle poem, "My Darling Kryptonite", as well as writing an essay titled "Of Melody". These pieces of work reflect some of the key points in my life and some of the situations and circumstances that I have affected me throughout my high school years. These are a few of my pieces that I have taken pride in throughout my senior year.
|
|
Recognizing the solo
Through high school I have attempted to treat people with the type of respect I would want to receive. I’ve learned this from my peers and from my mentors, but also from music. In music, the interaction between harmonies and melodies must not only have a sense of balance, but a sense of respect. When I’m playing, I am given the task of playing the melody, and as I am shown respect by fellow musicians, I have a sudden, overwhelming desire to do my absolute best for them. And when I switch to a harmony, I give them the center stage so that they can receive the same respect and attention that they had previously shown me. The point of music is that there is never an MVP. There may sometimes be a solo or a highlighted feature, but no single musician is more important than the rest. As musicians, it is part of our job to recognize who has the solo and who does not. This needs to be taken into life as well as a lesson to all of us who are trying to live in balance. Who’s to say that I am more important than my neighbor? Everyone is equally important. Whether we are running a country or running a little league baseball team, we all have a purpose. Everyone is equal, and we should respect the harmonies that life has provided to us.
Welcome new melodies
I don’t regret much in high school. For the most part I generally acted in the way I had hoped and I created an image around myself and around my friends that I am proud of. My only regret in high school would be that I waited on some things too long. I waited on that Algebra assignment until the last minute, and by then it was too late. I waited on a relationship and missed out on what could have been two years of getting to know her better. These are not necessarily full regrets, but maybe more similar to half-regrets. I regret missing the opportunity that I was given, but by missing those opportunities, others opened up. I missed the algebra due date, and because I missed it I was provided the opportunity to stay after school and talk with a student I barely knew for more than an hour. I missed the relationship freshmen year, but became more mature and more headstrong until I found her again my junior year. Now she is my best best friend and most definitely worth the wait. My only regrets are waiting, but as I look back on them, I don’t necessarily see them as regrets, but more as chances for different opportunities. Accept each opportunity as a new song that has a new melody.