At the age of 13, I had an experience that changed my view and perception of music forever. I was in the eighth grade when my cousin and best friend suddenly passed away from a brain aneurysm. Her death devastated me and I felt lost for a long time. She and I had planned out our lives together, we were going to graduate together, go to college together, and we were going to explore the world together. All my plans became derailed, I shut others out, and I became completely emotionless as I tried to block out the grief that I felt. Over time as I attempted to live life without emotion, I came to realize that it is an impossible task and one that can damage a person significantly. I knew that I needed to express my emotions, I needed to grieve, but I didn't know how. I tried to deal with my emotions but every time I tried to talk about what happened, something inside of me shut down and I couldn't make myself talk, it hurt too much. I came to the conclusion that something was wrong with me, that I was broken and unable to be fixed. I thought that the hurt and the sadness would never go away. As I made my way through the rest of my eighth grade year I became a different person, I was distant, I stopped raising my hand in class, I was nearly always silent, and I lost nearly twenty-five pounds. I continued this way until one day, as I was sitting in band class, our director told us that we would be commissioning a piece in remembrance of my cousin, who had also been a member of the band. This was something I had never thought of, expressing deep sincere emotion through music. I knew that music could portray emotion, but now I saw the possibility that music could not only show emotion but actually express it. We played this piece at our last concert of the year and I still remember exactly how I felt, playing in remembrance of my best friend. I felt something I hadn't felt in a long time, peace. Music helped me escape from the destructive path that I was headed down, it healed me. I realized that if music could save me, maybe I could save others by bringing music to them. From that time forward I have known that I want to be a band director. I want to bring to the next generation of musicians what was given to me. I want to give them the ability to heal, to succeed, and to express the emotions that cannot be expressed in words. I hope to inspire tomorrow's musicians the same way that my band directors and music teachers have inspired me. There is nothing more powerful than the emotion of music. There is no joy in the world greater than finishing a performance and knowing that you absolutely nailed it. There is nothing comparable to a piece of music that can make an entire audience of people and full-grown men cry. There is nothing like music. Music is and always will be the single most powerful form of human expression. Music can bring us together. One thing that I have always thought is cool, is that no matter where in the world you go, no matter what culture, every single inhabited place on earth has music. Music connects us all, it has no borders and no barriers. My music will be the music of the ensembles I conduct in the future, the performances of the students I will teach. My music will not just be what I create but will reach so much further than that, through my future students, their parents, and the audiences. I personally think that being a music educator is the best, most sincere way to change the lives of others with music. Music is extremely powerful and when a child can harness that power and develop musicality and skill, they can become a whole new person. The people who are lucky enough to be a part of the band, chorus, orchestra, or any music ensemble, gain a giant supportive family for life. Music creates a powerful bond between people that even time cannot break. For me changing the lives of just a few young musicians is the equivalent of changing the world because music saved my life and has ever since become my world. Note: I included 2 short clips in the link below. The faster one is part of Bach's Orchestral Suite in B minor seventh movement. The slower one is the second movement of Bach's Solo Flute Sonata in B minor.

"Music can heal the wounds that medicine cannot touch" - Debasish Mridha This quote inspires me to keep pursuing my goal of becoming a music educator because although music has always been a huge part of my life, when I was younger, I failed to recognize the power of music. However, at the age of 13, I had an experience that changed my view and perception of music forever. I was in the eighth grade when my cousin and best friend suddenly passed away from a brain aneurysm. Her death devastated me and I felt lost for a long time. She and I had planned out our lives together, we were going to graduate together, go to college together, and we were going to explore the world together. All my plans became derailed, I shut others out, and I became completely emotionless as I tried to block out the grief that I felt. Over time as I attempted to live life without emotion, I came to realize that it is an impossible task and one that can damage a person significantly. I knew that I needed to express my emotions, I needed to grieve, but I didn't know how. I tried to deal with my emotions but every time I tried to talk about what happened, something inside of me shut down and I couldn't make myself talk, it hurt too much. I came to the conclusion that something was wrong with me, that I was broken and unable to be fixed. I thought that the hurt and the sadness would never go away. As I made my way through the rest of my eighth grade year I became a different person, I was distant, I stopped raising my hand in class, I was nearly always silent. I continued this way until one day, as I was sitting in band class, our director told us that we would be commissioning a piece in remembrance of my cousin, who had also been a member of the band. This was something I had never thought of, expressing deep sincere emotion through music. We played this piece at our last concert of the year and I still remember exactly how I felt, playing in remembrance of my best friend. I felt something I hadn't felt in a long time, peace. Music helped me escape from the destructive path that I was headed down, it healed me. I realized that if music could save me, maybe I could save others by bringing music to them. From that time forward I have known that I want to be a band director. I want to bring to the next generation of musicians what was given to me. I want to give them the ability to heal, to succeed, and to express the emotions that cannot be expressed in words. I pursue my dreams for exactly the reason stated in this quote, because "Music can heal the wounds that medicine cannot touch".