Dedication became the major key to all the doors I've opened during high school. This word, ultimately, means much more in the context of my experience in the band program. The dedication I put forth into marching band, concert, jazz, solo and ensemble, and pep band came from someone who was tragically taken from me three years ago. This person was Ryan Martin, my uncle and a loving father to his child. Ryan was twenty-nine when he died, and it suddenly became the worst thing that has happened to me in my life. But, it also became a catalyst that helped me focus on and bring devotion and inspiration into music. Before his passing, he came to my last jazz band performance of my eighth-grade year at the Crazy Horse restaurant in Bloomington. After I successively performed, Ryan encouraged me to pursue my passion for music by joining all of the curriculums that were offered at Bloomington High School South. I made a promise to him saying I would at least join the marching band and concert band, but when he suddenly passed, I dedicated myself to everything that was offered in the band program at South. As a saxophone player of many differentials of the saxophone type, I took my pride, effort, and dedication to all curriculums of the band program by standing next to the promise I made despite the challenges that were brought forth during my years in high school. Although I took pride, effort, and love for marching band, the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 became one of many obstacles, if not the most challenging, to overcome in my second year of the marching band. All of the competitions that I loved going to were taken away by the virus that year, and the only audience we performed for was a quarter of people in the football home stands and a camera for our ISSMA performance. Sadly, it was all we could do and despite our shortened show of the season, I still put forth my passion and dedication while practicing and performing to my best ability. The pandemic changed how I dedicate myself to playing music competitively and in an enjoyable way. While the pandemic affected my sophomore year of marching band, it also prevented me from participating in solo and ensemble that were hosted yearly by ISSMA during my junior year. I was in a trio of saxophones with two other students and played a music piece that proved challenging as a group. Unfortunately, during the months of practicing, I tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and was ineligible to participate in the district performance. Despite being upset about knowing I couldn't go and perform, my trio was still eligible and was rewarded a gold after performing, which meant that we were able to perform at state finals. Even when I was sick, I still played my saxophone during my absence in the trio. Luckily I felt better and was able to rejoin my trio, and we performed at state and scored a gold. In this instance, being able to practice while being strangled by the virus was one major thing that helped me improve individually as a saxophone player. Despite the circumstances over the last couple of years, I have fought to become a better musician through the inspiration of my uncle and my dedication towards all of the major curriculums I've participated in. Even if my uncle was still alive, or wasn't here to become my inspiration in playing music, I still would've participated in all of what the band program offered.

Over three years ago, my uncle was tragically killed and taken away from me. Ryan Martin was twenty-nine years old after he passed, and it was one of the worst things that have happened in my life. He has been very close to me ever since I was little, and because of his passing, I focused on my pursuit in the band program at Bloomington High School South and my education at school. Despite my passion for music, my uncle was the person who pushed my dedication to it further than ever. The last time I saw him was during my final jazz band performance at the Crazy Horse restaurant in Bloomington. After he watched my performance, he told me that I should pursue playing music indefinitely. I kept that promise to him even when he passed. However, quite a few obstacles were proven challenging when I joined the Panther Regiment of Bloomington High School South. Despite the arduous practices I overcame in playing my music pieces, I achieved many awards that helped the band program obtain the 2021-2022 All-Music Award at the end of my junior year. If I hadn't dedicated myself to music, I wouldn't be where I am today. As a saxophone player, varying from Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Baritone, I pushed myself to fight for these achievements made by my work ethic, effort, and dedication that I put forth. Not only did I fight for my pursuit of music, but for my education as well. Marching band was one of the hardest curriculums I have participated in, and that is because of the time that you have to put into it based on how your performance is together with the band. As of last year, and this year especially, we put on different shows on the field that became time-consuming in working efficiently and with dedication. Every time something went downhill, whether failing to do a marching band set or not performing my best individually, I would always look up to my uncle Ryan and think about what he told me. Even if he sat in the metal bleachers and cheered me on during a performance, he would say the same thing to me, to not give up on your dreams. This motivation from his words would implant in my mind and, as a result, would help me strengthen my focus on what is at hand. Because of this, I was able to help the Panther Regiment qualify for the state finals by getting gold with distinction in music, and we were able to score in the top fifteen in our class overall at state in 2021. This year our band program made it to state and got gold with distinction in music and visuals. Then we achieved the greatest accomplishment in over 20 years for the Panther Regiment, we scored 8th place overall at state finals of this year. Ultimately if I hadn't made my promise to my uncle Ryan and dedicated my time to the Panther Regiment, I wouldn't be in the band program to start with, as it was the first thing I had joined before the start of high school. While my dedication to the band program was a success, my hard work in my education was another important focus. School during my junior and senior years became the most challenging because my math and English classes proved outrageously difficult. One example was my recent college class, W131, an AP class where it involved writing different types of analytical essays. Writing wasn't my strong suit at the time, but I fought to get the best grade possible. I knew even when education became a challenge, my uncle Ryan taught me to continue to work hard and focus on my goals. The death of my uncle was a tremendous struggle for me and my family. It really changed the dynamics of our family and how we lived our life. I began to focus on the important aspects of my life like my education in school, and my future of playing music. As a result, it changed the way how I thought of things in life and how to overcome the challenging obstacles that I have faced. Ultimately, losing a family member wasn't the only thing that made me fight for my dreams. It was also the dedication and motivation from others, including myself, were also relics of my pursuit in music and school.