“Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.” -Maya Angelou. Music is my safe space - it has been before I was even born. My passion for music extends beyond anything else. I was born into a family of musicians. My mother is a drummer, and my grandfather is a connoisseur of all string and percussion instruments. My earliest memories in life all revolve around music. I remember my grandmother and grandfather singing to me every night, holding a guitar in my hands for the first time, and playing on my first drum kit. You never stop learning about music. There are endless opportunities to grow your knowledge about the art. I want to spend the rest of my life sharing my passion for this art. The years of 2020 and 2021 were incredibly difficult for me. I was diagnosed with clinical depression and high functioning anxiety in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. I struggled in school, I struggled to find motivation, and I struggled to feel like myself. I realized music was my anchor in those two years. It has continued to ground me whenever I feel anxious or depressed or alone ever since. I almost always have headphones in. I can listen to almost any kind of music because it all soothes me. My favorites are rock and orchestral arrangements. They may be two complete opposites, yet they boost my serotonin like nothing else. “The music department is an alternate universe where pupils are often unrecognizable from who they are outside of it. The shy become confident. The agitated become calm. The lonely become included. The quiet become heard. And the lost become found. Music reveals the real child.”- Vaughan Fleischfresser. I have chosen music education as my major because I want to be able to share this passion I have with the next generation. I want to teach the kids like me: shy, reserved, and quiet. I want to see high schooler’s faces light up at the sound of hearing their marching band field show for the first time each year. I want to see the percussionists' faces when they’re assigned the slap stick part in Sleigh Ride for their Christmas concert. I want to show kids the joy and sense of accomplishment music can bring to someone. I want to show a young version of myself that comfort I found in music. The prompt for this essay asked to hear about how music has changed my life thus far. Music is my life. Music is my background and childhood. Music is my future. Music is what I want to study and learn about. Music is my passion. I have every intention of using my passion and talent as a way to spread my love for music and create a safe space for anyone and everyone in my future band room.

“Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.” -Maya Angelou. Music is my safe space - it has been before I was even born. My passion for music extends beyond anything else. I was born into a family of musicians. My mother is a drummer, and my grandfather is a connoisseur of all string and percussion instruments. My earliest memories in life all revolve around music. I remember my grandmother and grandfather singing to me every night, holding a guitar in my hands for the first time, and playing on my first drum kit. You never stop learning about music. There are endless opportunities to grow your knowledge about the art. I want to spend the rest of my life sharing my passion for this art. The years of 2020 and 2021 were incredibly difficult for me. I was diagnosed with clinical depression and high functioning anxiety in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. I struggled in school, I struggled to find motivation, and I struggled to feel like myself. I realized music was my anchor in those two years. It has continued to ground me whenever I feel anxious or depressed or alone ever since. I almost always have headphones in. I can listen to almost any kind of music because it all soothes me. My favorites are rock and orchestral arrangements. They may be two complete opposites, yet they boost my serotonin like nothing else. “The music department is an alternate universe where pupils are often unrecognizable from who they are outside of it. The shy become confident. The agitated become calm. The lonely become included. The quiet become heard. And the lost become found. Music reveals the real child.”- Vaughan Fleischfresser. I have chosen music education as my major because I want to be able to share this passion I have with the next generation. I want to teach the kids like me: shy, reserved, and quiet. I want to see high schooler’s faces light up at the sound of hearing their marching band field show for the first time each year. I want to see the percussionists' faces when they’re assigned the slap stick part in Sleigh Ride for their Christmas concert. I want to show kids the joy and sense of accomplishment music can bring to someone. I want to show a young version of myself that comfort I found in music. The prompt for this essay asked to hear about my passion for music, and my plans for my future. Music is everything to me. Music is my background and childhood. Music is my future. Music is what I want to study and learn about. Music is my passion. I have every intention of using my passion and talent as a way to spread my love for music and create a safe space for anyone and everyone in my future band room.

After reading the story of Miss Paula Collie, I believe I am an ideal candidate for this scholarship because of my passion for teaching. My passion is what drives me to keep pursuing a career in teaching, despite my challenges. I have struggled through my first two years of college. I suffer from clinical depression and anxiety, ADHD, and autism. These diagnosis’s make it extremely difficult for me to get out of bed each day, let alone push through difficult college classes. I’ve not had the best experience. I am also a first generation college student. I was raised by my single mother, who has worked very hard to be able to put me through college. I have had bad semesters, and not the greatest grades in the world, but I’m working each day to get these up, and do better, so I can continue affording college. Even though this has been a struggle for me, because of my passion for teaching, I have not given up. I am determined to finish college and become a music educator. My passion for teaching and music is what drives me in life. I was inspired by several teachers throughout my education in public school, and they taught me exactly what I want to be as a teacher, as well as what I don’t want to be. Every teacher leaves some sort of impact on every student. I aspire for my impact to be positive to every student I teach. As a future music educator, I look forward to sharing my passion for music with the next generation, and to inspire the next great musicians and music educators. My passion for teaching and music comes from those teachers and musicians that came before me. I would not be here without the help of my music teachers. I believe our current education system does not set students up for success. Especially recently, with talk of the department of education being dismantled by the federal government. I believe that without the department of education, leaving standards and such up to the state will cause a large gap in the quality of education from state to state. More populated states like California and New York, will have higher results than states like Mississippi, Louisiana, and West Virginia, which are already the “least educated” states. This recent commotion does worry me. I worry that my degree that I’m working so hard for will become obsolete without the department of education. I have contemplated changing my major, and finding another career to pursue. But I always come back to teaching. I’ve spent years preparing for it, doing student leadership, taking college courses in high school, trying to prepare myself for the education field. I truly cannot see myself doing anything else. I cannot wait to become an educator, share my passion for music, and leave a positive impact on my students, the future great musicians of the world.