Personal Narrative: Music Appreciations

I was born and raised in Gulfport, Mississippi, an area immersed in a relaxed coastal culture and a vibrant jazz and blues heritage. Gulfport is located right off the Gulf of Mexico and less than an hour from New Orleans, Louisiana. Living near the Gulf, heavily influenced my childhood, I would spend weekends at the beach, and long hours traveling to distant islands far from the coast I called home. The music you would hear at the beach were always from timeless Americana artist; such as, Bob Dylan and Jonny Cash. My parents, not musicians themselves, were infatuated with the music of the late 1980’s from artists like Prince, Michael Jackson, and Journey. My particular favorite artist from that time period was Queen, and my love for rhapsody

As I grew, I began dance lessons, sang in more advanced choirs, and auditioned for community theatre shows, performing in my first musical around age seven. I found I loved Musical Theatre far more than any other art form, despite my young age preventing me from articulating this passion. I auditioned for as many shows as possible and faced rejection

When I began playing trumpet I had no idea it was gonna be hard I thought it would be easy as pie but I figured out it was a whole lot of work. The first few weeks of class we had to learn how to buzz our lips into the mouth piece which was very difficult. After we learned that we started playing the trumpets and we sounded horrible. But after practicing and hard work we sounded amazing and now playing is my awesome talent. Playing trumpet is a talent because I’m good at it and I love to play it everyday. I also use my talent by being in band and playing at my church sometimes. I developed my talent by practicing everyday and signing up for band.

We all have stories and memories tied to songs that have become a part of who are. Remember the violins playing in the background while watching a sad movie or the song that helped you through difficult times or the song you and your friends sang while attending a concert? Whether it’s on the television, the radio, in a movie, in the car, or at a sporting event, music is everywhere. Feeling the rhythm of music brings us so much joy and excitement but playing musical instrument is even more fulfilling because it has many benefits. Everything I do revolves around my music. I have been around music all my life, whether it was listening to it or playing it. I’m very passionate about music and I love playing an instrument. The instrument

I have always been a particularly musical person. When I was younger, I wanted to become a singer when I grew up, but upon joining the choir in elementary I realized I did not have the talent for singing that I thought I had. Continually singing off key and never sounding as good as my peers did, I decided to confine myself to singing at home where only my family could hear me. Despite this revelation that I was, in fact, a terrible singer, I still wanted to participate in some type of musical performance and decided to join the band in middle school. After trying out various different instruments, I settled on the flute and quickly fell in love.

National Honor society was established to recognize outstanding high school students. National Honor society recognizes students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of academic success, leadership, character and service. I should be in National Honor Society because I think I represent a lot of the qualities needed to be in this organization.

It was the end of my eighth grade year and I was playing junior high volleyball. In the past I always considered myself as an athlete either trying or playing every sport in the book. Did I enjoy playing sports? Sure it had it’s perks, but did I love it as much as making music? Not even close. Eighth period I had chorus class. My chorus teacher who was also the assistant band

Saint Cecilia was believed to be born during the 2nd or 3rd century AD, but it is unknown the date of her actual birth. She has been claimed to be a daughter of a rich Roman family, which meant that she was Christian from birth. When she was young, she was promised to marry a pagan named Valerian. Despite this promise, she vowed to stay pure to God, and disclosed this vow to her husband when they married. She told him of an angel that watches over her and guards her purity. Upon hearing this news, Valerian traveled to Rome to see the Pope [Urban ⏤ 223-230] and see the angel that guards his wife. No one knows whether he saw the angel or not, but when in Rome, he was baptized by the Pope. When he returned to Cecilia, it is said that they were

Some qualities I have that would contribute to TRi-M are I love learning through my effort and dedication in what I do. I’m responsible, respectful, I manage my time wisely, and I like to lead. In accordance to leading by example, I also try to motivate others as well as motivating myself. Having the courage to step up to something like this is big for me so I could add confidence and appreciation. Why appreciation? Well, I’m a very driven person and if I don’t push myself now then when will I? I like building relationships because I’m very sociable. I’m very clear about what I have to say, I don’t like to offend others and make someone feel bad because it’s not fair to them, I like when there is an equal treatment. I trust in others, especially my teammates, and people in my sections. I can turn my visions into reality. As well as getting the best out of others. I take responsibility to keep an effective sectional going. I’m open-minded and I like to build successful opinions to

Music is a very recent thing that has changed my life. I have always had an interest for music, since I was young I would dream of playing the Alto Saxophone. My dream became a reality in Sixth Grade when I was able to pick up and learn an instrument. I ended up choosing the Tenor Saxophone because of its dark full sound. I progressed very quickly taking lessons from Jill Marasa, band director at Costa Catholic Academy, later that year I bought a Flute, and Clarinet. I also became very proficient on those very early on. I soon moved to where I live now. Before I even moved I already had contacted the band director at Germantown Hills Middle School, Eric Loring, to see what their program was and to see what instruments they had available. I ended up starting the oboe, which till this day is the love of my life. During the Seventh Grade I was introduced to the Central Illinois Youth Symphony. I auditioned for it and their Flute Choir on, Oboe, Flute, and Bassoon (picking up and learning only a week before auditions). When the results came in I found out that I had made all three parts doubling Oboe and Bassoon in the Central Illinois Concert Orchestra (2013-2014). The season was very successful but soon came to an end. I soon sold my Bassoon and purchased an English horn. I soon switched Oboe teachers, I went from Kylie Hankosky (2013-2014) to Alison Robuck (2014-present), Oboe professor at Bradley University in Peoria, IL. Over time I

A person’s hobbies say a lot about them as an individual. It is a universal truth that the people you surround yourself with have a major impact in shaping who you are, and the people that coincide with your interests can either change your life for better or for worse. For the past six years of my life, I have been a part of the fine arts community through band.

My identity is wrapped up in my love of music because I have been surrounded by it since I was little. When I was a toddler, I would sit for long periods of time and watch videos of kids singing songs. As I grew older I participated in my church's children's choir and even held solos in my elementary school chorus. When I reached middle school I joined my school's middle school chorus in 7th grade as an alto and 8th grade as a soprano. The transition between 8th and 9th grade was important for me because I took up voice lesson in 8th grade and went to my first music camp the summer before 9th grade.

At a young age, I constantly wanted to express myself through music. I always found a way to incorporate music into my daily life, whether it be by blasting my favorite music, creating my own funky songs, or even having the opportunity to participate in my elementary school choir. My love for music actually took flight after I had decided to join my elementary school choir, however, in my opinion, it is not the most transformative moment in my life. After elementary

Music has always been a part of my life. In definition, it is “vocal or instrumental sounds combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.” Ever since I was a young child, I have loved music. The strong, steady beats, the entrancing melodies, and the lyrics that vary between heartwarming and heart-wrenching have always had an unexplainable effect on my life. Music seems to have the ability to change certain aspects of my world. Even with my moods, whether it is sad or mad, music will help me get through it. It has absolutely been an enormous part of my life and who I am. Thus, this is to say that I have musical talent. I am in a high school marching band, where I play any piano-like instrument. My viewpoint with music has come to a simple conclusion, without it, I would not know who I am or what to do with my life.

The battleground was fierce. The lone soldier faced seemingly insurmountable odds, with drops of sweat trickling down his face and the stain of the coarse earth covering his milky-white skin. As he breathed his last, I gave out my final command, "Knight to E-4." Checkmate.