Personal Narrative: Colorado All-State Bands

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For the past years, different groups and organizations have wanted to change the mascot. To these groups and organizations, they felt that the mascot was offensive and disrespectful to them. Some Native Americans states that use of their imagery under the name “Indians” is offensive viewing Indians as warriors like in the back in the wild west. Here are some reasons why we need to keep the mascot 1) it is a symbol of our school that we take pride in.

For many years I have been known for being a very talented athlete. But what many people do not know is that I was once in the Elba Marching band. Being in the band has taught me a lot of things, like reading music, discipline and organization. The most interesting thing about the band was that we had to learn how to read music. At first this was a challenge for me, but I soon got the hang of it.

My first experience at the Carolina Country Music Fest was extraordinary. It all started Friday after my friends and I unpacked our stuff at the hotel. After we brief catching up we departed to the Carolina Country Music Fest. During the walk our anticipation grew; Keith Urban was going to plan in less than an hour! As we arrived to the venue, our wrist bands were scanned and we rushed to the stage.

As a freshman, I joined the chorus as a soprano. It was slightly intimidating that year because I was the youngest person in my section. Everyone

Mid-December on a Friday morning the most unexpected situation brought harsh feelings towards me. I found out I did not make the District 's All-City Honor Band. Every year before that day, I have always achieve a chair in the honor band since I have been playing the clarinet. That disappointment hit my heart the deepest and hardest way possible because that morning I woke up certain I made the band. I took the failure hard with all kinds shenanigans with negative thoughts and feelings.

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.

I play six instruments including Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Clarinet, Mellophone, and Piano, and I sing in my Church Choir as well. I have the honor of being principal chair on Alto Saxophone in Symphonic Band, as well as a featured soloist in the 12 O’Clock Big Band. I have applied for student leadership in Marching Band next year as well. Athletics at Central Dauphin have taught me important skills of teamwork, sportsmanship, and camaraderie. My musical involvement has also shown me that hard work and practice can make anything

I began participating in band in 5th grade and throughout the years I have discovered that music is something that I truly enjoy. I originally decided to continue on with band during high school just for fun, unaware on how much of an impact it would have on my life. Through band, I have met some of my best friends and I have experienced once in a lifetime opportunities like performing at Walt Disney World, during a parade. Over the past four years I have drastically improved my musical ability and my leadership skills. Most importantly I have learned the value of a job well done.

When I ended my sophomore year, I felt as if I was on top of the world. My grades were top tier, I had a successful soccer season, and I had just been assigned the drum major position in my school’s marching band. However about halfway through the following summer, I was diagnosed with depression. Instead of trying to fight through my condition, I allowed myself to slink deeper and deeper into an abyss. I knew that in my tenure as drum major, I would need to have a stable mind in order to be effective and have a possible impact on the band

Despite my passion for athletics, I have spent the majority of my high school career involved in show choir. I participate in the Executive Session at Sauk Prairie High School. Show choir incorporates training under professional choreographers, undergoing numerous voice lessons, and traveling the country for competitions. This self-disciplinary activity pushes me to work hard and strive for perfectionism while taking leadership roles in a professional environment. Furthermore, show choir allows me to impact others through my performance and to take risks.

I start off everyday by getting ready and heading to school. When I get there, I walk into the choir hall and prepare for an hour and a half long rehearsal that I know will leave me tired. We always start with ten or twenty minutes full of physical exercise. When that is done, we move into breathing exercises that always somehow seem more physically demanding. Finally, we get to singing; which is my favorite part of the whole day.

At the end of the year for auditions, I decided to try out for Symphonic band, the top band in our school. Because I was in one of the last bands, a lot of people told me this would be very difficult to do. When the results came in I found out I had made symphonic. I was very proud of myself with how much I had improved within just a year. I even got the Academic Excellence for Concert 2 band award at the end of the 2013-2014 school year.

From fourth grade through my senior year of high school, I performed in the Fort Lauderdale Christmas Pageant. This was a performance held annually by my home church, and I had the opportunity to participate with my mother and brother for nine years. My mother sang in the choir, and my brother and I danced, sang, and acted out various scenes of the Christmas story year after year. The Christmas Pageant is an outstanding production that has been nominated five times and won two Emmy awards. By the time I was a senior I learned how to waltz, swing dance, and perform front row in a variety of choreographed dances.