I wanted to write something that spoke to the struggle that many musicians go through. People like to tell musicians that a music career isn’t smart or worthwhile because it doesn’t make as much money as a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. However, we do it not for money, but because we love sharing stories, and inspiring others to explore themselves and their world through their art. This song talks about how musicians keep at their passion, despite this opposition. I wrote this song sitting with my bass guitar. I came up with the opening bass lick first, then wrote some lyrics, and finally put some chords and a melody under it. The specific drum and guitar patterns were written by members of my band.

A group of twenty-five third and fourth graders - all boys - marches out of a building. The boys assemble themselves into two even lines. All of them are wrapped in large heavy coats, which cover their uniform sweaters. Still, they shiver with the cold. As the choir begins to sing, their director notices one boy who seems particularly invested in what he is doing. From the downbeat of the first bar of the piece, all the way until the last echoes of the piano die out, this certain boy has an expression of pure joy on his face. His eyes sparkle below his hat-covered head. The corners of his mouth twitch up, as he struggles to keep his perfectly formed vowel from morphing into a wide grin. As the choir continues to sing, he leans and sways in time to the music, not able to contain himself. At the end of the piece, all the boys bow, and when he comes back up, his face beams. He basks in the small smattering of applause from the people walking by, and the parents who shiver in the cold. This boy is me. As I stood there, singing, I felt so much joy, that my expression couldn’t even come close to capturing all of it. It was this moment that set me on the path I’m on today. Despite the cold, the snow, the fact that no one was truly listening, and the small, tinny sounding, electric keyboard that accompanied us, I felt totally fulfilled while performing. While the choir walked back into the shelter of the restaurant where we had left our bags, I thanked three people in my head: my mother and father for supporting me in whatever extracurricular I wanted to be involved in, and my third grade music teacher, Mrs. Marylee Vennemeyer, for recommending me for the Cincinnati Boychoir. This first concert with them was the thing that led me to eventually decide that I want to major in music. It showed the one thing that would become my hobby, then my passion, and eventually what I live and breathe. It was also the first time I’d felt like I belonged somewhere. I already had a vague sense at that point that Boychoir would become my second family. My home away from home. A place where, unlike school at that point in my life, I could be myself without any fear of criticism. This later allowed me to discover who I was even more. Being able to realize how important that space was for me as a child, has now made me very passionate about being a Music Education major. I want to be able to inspire that same passion, and create that same type of safe space for other passionate young musicians, allowing them to grow and use their gifts to help the world.