"With great power comes great responsibility." This maxim does not trace its origins to any Spiderman film, but it quickly became iconic of the themes represented in nearly every movie about this well-loved hero. However, I feel that Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse illustrates it best. Aside from the staggering graphics, the stirring score, and the moving voice-acting, though these essential elements are truly prodigious, the story told and the messages shared are touching and life-changing. Among these themes displayed are the importance of teamwork and the need for family. However, one specific idea struck a chord deep within me. It was the theme of the significance of self-confidence and self-esteem. It grows harder and harder every single day to trust oneself and not harbor self-doubt. There are so many outside influences that try to bring you down. Because of this, it is increasingly important to learn to ignore these forces of evil. When you understand your worth, you can accomplish so much more. In the film, Miles Morales exhibits this by taking his "leap of faith." His dad shows him that someone believes in him. Inspired by this revelation, Miles realizes that he needs to save his friends, and to do so, he must take that "leap of faith" that Peter B. Parker mentioned earlier. Once Miles realizes he can do something with his new powers, he has enough self-confidence to go and help his friends. Self-esteem is an essential trait to have. Without it, life can be challenging, and it may seem as if all the world is against you. With it, as shown in Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse, one can fulfill the responsibilities that come with one's unique abilities.

The first video on my playlist is all about looking outside yourself and lifting others. It is necessary to make sure we are happy otherwise, we will not be able to do this. I also believe that helping others is super important. I centered my playlist around songs that are about helping others and being lifted by others as well. It features some of my favorite artists. I hope that my playlist will be uplifting for all who watch it.

I have always loved music of various types for various reasons. This love has driven me to strive throughout my life to surround myself with good music and to learn as much as I could about music. When I was two, my mom would play “The Chicken Dance” on our CD player, and I would dance with more enthusiasm than the typical two-year-old. That was only the beginning. I’ve taken piano lessons since I was six and Ballroom dance since I was seven. I started singing in my ward’s choir with my mom when I was still in Primary. In fifth grade, I joined my school’s orchestra program to learn how to play the cello. When tenth grade came around, I joined my school’s men’s choir and participated in the Idaho All-State Choir. Then, in 11th grade, I auditioned for and made it into my school’s mixed choir. That year I also took a class about music theory and, for one trimester, had a whole hour-long class period at school to devote to practicing the piano. This year I’m still in the mixed chorus, and I’m also in a select jazz group comprised of 12 members. In this group, I am the beat-boxer, and I sing bass. At home, I beat-box so much that my family often asks me to stop almost immediately. At one point, I was not allowed to beat-box anywhere but my room. I also sing around the house so much that the songs I’m singing sometimes get stuck in my parents’ heads. I have also pursued even higher achievements with the piano. I have accompanied in choir, entered several scholarship competitions, and played several advanced pieces by Haydn, Chopin, Debussy, and Rachmaninoff. I have always practiced 100 percent or more of the time assigned in piano, orchestra, choir, and dance. I am very grateful for everyone who has taught me so much, including my orchestra teachers, my choir teacher, my piano teacher, my ballroom coaches, and my family. All of them have taught me so much about music. In turn, the things I have learned have influenced my life in countless positive ways.

A piano teacher organization in my area hosts an annual scholarship competition for musicians from 8th to 12th grade. The first time I participated, I received an honorable mention and $50. The next two years, I got nothing. Both times, this discouraged me and, and I wondered how close or how far I had been from getting anything. The actual amount of money awarded was insignificant, but I was more disappointed about not being recognized for my hard work than I was about not getting money. Every year I was disappointed that it seemed like my efforts hadn’t paid off, but immediately after, my teacher and I began planning what pieces I would learn and perform the next year. We wanted them to challenge me enough that I would still improve my skills, but we also didn’t set our standards higher than we thought I would be able to reach. We thought about which pieces would go well together and also exhibit my abilities as a pianist. Because of this immediate renewal of preparations, I learned how important it is to bounce back up when I fall and keep moving forward. I also learned the importance of learning from mistakes instead of looking back at them and letting them get me down. It seemed that the same people were winning every year, and most of them were some of my close friends. I may have felt a little bitter about this, but when I learned how much more they practiced than I did, I realized how much more they deserved to win. Instead of allowing enmity to push us apart, I developed a stronger bond with them because I respected and admired their hard work. Before I knew how much my friends practiced, I already practiced at least 100 percent of the time that my teacher assigned me. However, after learning how much they practiced, I worked harder to make the time that I practiced worthwhile. I realized that it is less about the amount of time one spends practicing and more about how one spends the practice time. I learned the importance of respecting others who are better than me at something and of striving to become better myself. I also practiced performing. In tenth grade, I joined my school’s men’s choir and played piano for many of the pieces we performed, and I have continued to accompany both the men’s and the combined choirs. These experiences on the stage helped me to gain more confidence and feel less nervous when performing. Though I still have not won anything in a piano competition, I have improved much and learned many lessons.