COVID-19 has greatly affected my life and many others. There are some positives but there are also a lot of negatives. When COVID-19 had first started to spread my family was very scared and frightened. We ended up traveling to my uncles farm in order to isolate ourselves. The time I had spent there was very challenging for me. I had felt very cramped in the house since I was not only sharing the space with my family but, I was also sharing the space with my uncles family and my great grandparents. At first it was fine since I am a very introverted person and enjoy staying at home. It didn’t take long before I began to become stressed and frustrated. I broke down multiple times and I began to fell homesick. I wasn’t able to see my mom for 3 months because my parents are divorced. I believe not being able to see my mom was the hardest for me. I wanted to see her but I was unable to because of the Covid situation. When I was finally able to come home I was relieved. I missed sleeping in my own bed and being able to move around my own house without feeling trapped. I was able to see my mom and began to slowly transition into the outside world. Since I came back Covid has become more bearable. Looking back at my time on my uncles farm I realized that I may have overreacted a bit. There were families who were losing loved ones and people who are on the brink of death due to this virus. During this time I had learned that I tend to act in the moment and not consider others. I wasn’t the only one who was experiencing these issues. There were 8 other people who I was sharing a space with who were also in a very similar situation that I was in.

I am an aspiring musician who wants to make an impact on youth who are starting their journey in music. It has been my dream to become a middle school orchestra director since my freshman year of high-school. I had been playing the viola for about 5 years before I had entered my middle school orchestra program but I could tell that the school I was at did not care about orchastral music. Every year there was a new teacher and each teacher didn’t try to prepare their students for the hardships of high school orchestra. When I had graduated the 8th grade I had decided to become a middle school teacher so I can make sure each and every student can be able to find their passion for music. The complexity of music is what excites me the most about this world. There are so many different genres and ways to play and create music. Wether it be a beautiful violin concerto or a heavy metal guitar solo, each and every type of music is unique in their own way. Knowing that so much people are creating and playing music excites me. I have always wanted to help the community in some type of way. When I was in middle school and elementary I had done small volunteer work a few times. Each time I enjoyed helping the community. Once Covid-19 is over I would like to start helping at local soup kitchen about 10 minutes from my house. I believe this will help me grow as a person and help my community, even if its small.

I am currently trying to work on learning music theory. I would use this grant to help me pay for my classes since I am not able to afford music theory lessons. The places that I have looked at are charging about $50-60 per lesson. I cannot afford to take this class more than once. I am in a tough position to where I have to choose to either take music theory or quit my regular music lessons To be able to afford them. With this grant I would be able to do both which will help me exponentially in my future music education career.

When I go to college I would like to study music education. I have been playing the viola for about 10 years now. It has been my passion to play the viola since I was in elementary. When I was in middle school I knew I wanted to teach but I didn’t know what until I got to high-school. I enjoy teaching others and to be able to share my joy for music would be a perfect career for me. When I was in middle school I didn’t have the best teachers which had made me fall a bit behind. Due to my persistence I pushed through this setback and started to become a better musician on my own. When I become a middle school orchestra director I want to make sure that every one of my students succeed and find their own love for music.