Personal Narrative: All-State Honor

Without the slightest doubt in my mind, making Alabama’s all-state honor band is my proudest achievement. Of all the prideful moments in my life, earning a spot in all-state shines brightest of all; it took more effort and dedication than any other challenge I have ever faced. However, as physically and mentally draining as all-state was, one week later I wanted to do it all over again; this taught me a few things, namely that I especially love music, have an extremely competitive drive, and am willing and capable to accomplish any goal I set for myself. In other words, playing with the all-state honor band is my crowning achievement because it taught me who I am.

Most importantly, all-state brought me to the conclusion that I adore music in

Initially, when I started practicing to audition, I did not think being accepted was a possibility. At the audition, this belief was reinforced further after hearing one other trombone in the warm-up room. His tone was beautiful and he surpassed my technical ability to play in every portion of the études; if even a few other players performed as well as him, there was no way for me to succeed. A month of painstakingly detailed practice felt worthless after hearing one trombone player warming up. I truly believed that I already lost. Regardless, I went into the audition room, did my absolute best, and came out searching for a way to console myself. My mom took me out to eat afterwards, but instead of conversing I incessantly checked my phone every other minute for the results. Nearly an hour later, just after I arrived home, I checked the results and the trombones who made it were posted; there my name stood listed as the third best trombone. Personally, I am not the type to get excited over positive results, but this occasion was remarkably unique. My response was to literally jump up and down with glee before floating over to my door, sliding down the stairs, and telling my mom that I made it. For the rest of the night I felt euphoric; nothing could drag me down. One extremely intense month of practice and I achieved what I thought was initially impossible. Based on this, I formed a fresh outlook on challenges: I can accomplish anything I set my sights on so long as I work for it with everything I have. However flawed this view may be, it will serve me incredibly well over the next few