At nine months old I was diagnosed with Kawasaki Disease after being misdiagnosed numerous times, and I was treated with medication that ended up giving me an aneurysm on my coronary artery. After spending a week in the hospital fighting for my life, I was released. Little did I know that before they let me go home, my doctor gave my parents advice that would later change the path of my life. Ironically, a potentially fatal disease unexpectedly created positive opportunities for me and made me into the musician I am today. My doctor told my parents that because of my illness, I might not be able to participate in sports, and he suggested I pick up an instrument instead. But I persisted. When I was seven years old, I wanted to swim. I went to the hospital and passed all of my exams that said I was healthy enough to participate. I started swimming immediately and loved every second of it. In the fourth grade I started learning the recorder at school and that summer I had volunteered to play the national anthem at a swim competition. After I performed, a woman greeted me and offered her flute for me to borrow. I took it home and fell in love. Everything happens for a reason. Beating Kawasaki Disease helped me to swim, and without swimming and that one person's genuine kindness, I wouldn't have become a musician. Now, 8 years later, I'm a senior in high school going to Vanderbilt to continue music. I don't know who the woman was that let me borrow her flute, but without her, I would have never played the flute, and that gives me hope for the future.

Every day is an opportunity for creativity when you are a musician. My creative abilities are constantly being critiqued by others and me, because creativity helps me to stand out as a musician and stand out from other people on and off stage. What I love about being a musician is being able to match my attire to my performance program. It enables me to set myself apart from others by showing them that instrumental art is not just about the music, but how the music is presented physically. When I am working on somber, slow pieces, I can highlight them with deep, solid colors. With something like Vivaldi's "Four Seasons", I can be much more eccentric. Generally, creativity comes in various shapes and sizes, but I use it to express myself during performances. I believe pops of color are much more intriguing than plain black uniforms and it helps to set me apart from others. If there were no expression of creativity, everyone would be the same, so it is important to stand out from the crowd.

I started playing music after surviving Kawasaki Disease and receiving advice from my doctor to pick up an instrument, as he said I likely wouldn't be able to participate in sports. I began with the recorder in fourth grade, and performed the National Anthem at an event, which led to a woman greeting me and asking if I wanted to borrow a flute she had. If it weren't for her I would likely be playing a different instrument. Now, eight years after starting the flute, I will be attending Vanderbilt's Blair School of Music to major in performance or music education in hopes to change people's lives, big or small. The Arts are so important to society because they are, to me, a medicine like no other. A medicine that heals pain, discovers emotions, creates bonds, and opens opportunities. Without art or music, we would have little knowledge of the past. Art and music create pictures and stories that show how we got here. They are so important to society because without them society would not even exist. Music can be something as small as a heart beat or as large as a symphony. If we don't have music, we don't have skips or birdchirps or choirs. Art can be a plate of food or Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, and without these things we would starve our minds and our bodies. Art and music are everywhere, whether we know it or not, and these things make society and cultures what they are today. I know that without music, I would be on a completely different track, probably doing something I wasn't nearly as passionate about, and that shows me how important the Arts are. Without them I wouldn't be me. As I continue through my senior year of high school, I look forward to what the future holds; even if I don't know for sure what that is. Being uncertain gives me so much to anticipate, and I'm eager to further my opportunities. I hope to one day inspire others as much as my teachers have inspired me. It is my goal to recycle the footprint they left on me, and find new ways to grow that footprint for my future students. I aspire to help people find themselves in music, and show them how healing music can be. I hope to make a difference, but at the end of the day I'm just happy to be doing what I love.

I am currently a senior in high school who is committed to Vanderbilt's Blair School of Music for flute. Before finding my passion for flute, I was involved in music through my elementary school choir, orff program, and recorder classes. In the summer of fourth grade, I began playing flute and have stuck with it since. Throughout playing flute, I have learned other instruments such as saxophone, clarinet, piano, and percussion. I participated in marching band for three years, where I was a featured soloist, I was in the pit for my high school musical production for five years, and I have been an active member of Tri-M throughout high school serving as the Vice-President during my senior year. I believe that practice is much more than just playing out of a book. It also comes from experiences outside of the practice room. I practice not only by studying on my own time but also by involving myself in music through extracurriculars in the community such as local youth orchestras, community bands, and small ensembles.