College Admissions Essay: How Music Has Changed My Life

Taking a deep breath, I walked into the room. This was it. This was my chance to find something I could be good at and recognized for other than just being a “smart girl.” Looking around, I observe the other children chatter and fiddle with violins, violas, and cellos, to find one that suits them. Even though I was only nine years old, I knew violin was for me once I saw it. Picking it up, I ran my hands over the smooth, glossy wood finish. The violin rested comfortably on my shoulder and the bow,and while it was a bit awkward to hold in my small hand, was held easily in my fingers. Ever since then, my love and passion for music has grown. Orchestra has taught me devotion, time management, cooperation and that hard work pays off. Orchestra

Expectations, confidence and self-expression are major areas in my life I learned through a tough experience which occurred during my sophomore year. During this time, I was dealing with my grandpa's hospitalization as well as bullying from my so-called "best friends." Both had major effects on my life. My grandpa was in the hospital because he had fallen while in the shower, and hit his head, resulting in bleeding and brain damage. The entire time he was hospitalized, he was in a coma. The hospitalization caused me to miss school and feel really down. I felt as if I had more responsibilities during this time, because I had to stay on track with my schoolwork as well as be there for my family, since there were a lot of conflicts about the hospitalization. I mentioned to my friends my circumstance at the time thinking that they could lift my spirits. However, they were unable to recognize the possible sensitivity of my emotions, and made me feel unsupported. Eventually, their words and actions ended up at the point, where it was labeled as bullying. I was constantly being deprecated and put down. They told me I "wasn't good enough" and that I "wasn't worth fighting for a