Texas All-State Choir Reflection

Tell us about an experience, in school or out, that taught you something about yourself and/or the world around you. (maximum 200 words)
One of the few things we had to do in choir besides show up and practice was to record a submission for the Texas All-State Choir. Our conductor didn’t make us send them in if we didn’t want to, but I always did. In ninth grade, the songs were particularly challenging and I knew I wouldn’t make it. But in tenth grade, everything was set up perfectly; the songs were much easier; our conductor heard rumors of which sections we had to perform, giving us extra time to practice; and there were only seventeen tenors from our region that year, of which 15 would at least go on to the Regional Choir. I knew I’d never have a better shot. I didn’t get in. I was one of the two tenors rejected out of hand. It hurt. I had practiced with a significant effort. I really

It was my first AP class because my previous school did not offer them. I’ve always enjoyed math classes, so I was looking forward to this class. It was exciting; we went over limits and derivatives and their applications. I absolutely loved it. It was fascinating. For each topic explored, I always went little further by myself. For limits, I learned L’Hôpital’s on my own. For derivatives, e to the x. By the end of the semester, I was so eager to learn more, that I started teaching myself integrals. I adored that AP Calculus AB class. I felt a true and genuine excitement learning calculus that made me stick with it and see what else I could learn from this entire discipline of math invented by Newton and Leibniz. (That also blew my mind, that an entire discipline of math could be invented). So, over the summer, I took a booster course to join the Calculus BC class, which I currently attend. I love it. Situations like these, where you feel a true excitement for something, are so rare in life. I’m glad I experienced one of