I spent the better part of my high school years in the band room.The spring before my freshman year, I announced to my parents that I wanted to join band in high school, which led to some confusion -- I did not play an instrument at the time. Walking into the noise and chaos of the band room for my first rehearsal completely overwhelmed me; a part of me began to wonder why I even wanted to be there. Not only had I picked up a flute for the first time only a few months prior to band camp, but this was also my first year in public school. To make matters worse, the few close friends who had moved into the public school with me did not join band. I was on my own.
Nearly all of the new people I was meeting were already in a pre-established friend
My AP English class read Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, and it was again reminiscent of my experience of looking in a mirror. I found many similarities between Gregor and myself -- both of us were unable to show our true selves to society. In addition to reading the short story, I was required to write a blog post relating to the text that was to be shared and potentially discussed with the class, and mine was based on comparisons to the moment I came out to my parents and the days that followed. Instead of hurling apples and abuse, my friends hurled nothing but support and light-hearted jokes from my classmates, and I realized how lucky I am to be so accepted. Nothing had changed, but revealing this very personal truth about myself allowed anyone who read my blog post to form a stronger human connection. Much of my class is spent reading and thinking about literature from well-known authors, but thinking about and understanding each other as people that are as complex as I am is vital for the development of more empathetic and informed
I am now so much more aware of the connections that I form with people, and my future classmates are aware of this too. They were all once a “nervous freshman” in their own way, and I am beyond excited to meet them, compare our life experiences, and find out what I can learn from them. I want to teach because I want to share my experiences in a way that will help as many people as possible -- by helping them become both better musicians and better people. I wish that my future students will be able to learn about empathy and compassion through my example -- or better yet, they will be able to learn from each other and continue learning throughout their lives. In the politically-charged times that we are living in, it is of the utmost importance to see things from different points of view when thinking and making decisions. Listening to others and hearing how their experiences impact their lives is vital to create a better and more empathetic understanding of each other and the world itself. The next four years of my life will be spent in the band room and filled with music classes -- just as the previous four years were. Ultimately, I will spend upwards of the next thirty-five years in a band classroom. Some of my most personal connections and relationships