The sound of the bass guitar is felt before it is heard, like an earthquake. Each string I plucked was a new chapter in my life that builds me to who I am today. The low frequencies of the bass being so impactful but not the easiest to hear symbolizes my growth as a person, felt before its seen. Growing up I was taught to control and suppress my emotions before having the confidence to express them, so when I discovered the bass guitar it felt like a language that was invented specifically tailored for me. Having the ability to manipulate the mood of songs by changing something as simple as the key was like a reflection of how a person's tone in voice can make intention sound different. I saw this parallel very early on and it sharpened my communication skills. The very first time I realized how important music was to me was my first open mic with my friends when I was around 14 years old. I remember feeling so many emotions at once. Nervous, excited, upset, and regretful. It seemed as if everything that could go wrong went wrong. The rhythm guitarist’s low E guitar string broke an hour before the performance so we had to rush to get new ones and be back on time. The lead guitarist was running late and showed up about ten minutes before the performance. I could never forget the adrenaline I felt before getting on stage. Going in front of 200+ people and being the center of attention was something I wasn't used to. Neither was playing in a band. As the band and I began playing,we naturally locked in with the song. The song drew us in and pulled me away from all thoughts. I was feeling the music over feeling anything. The audience's applause and screaming suppressed those previous emotions. This was the first very clear time I felt a concrete and unbreakable emotion and it was all because of me seeing growth as a musician and wanting to expand on it. That emotion was pride. The thought that perfection cannot be achieved is a downside to a lot of people but I see it as better. I see it as an opportunity for endless growth. Things like teaching myself how to do a front flip off one leg at the age of ten, a backflip at the age of nine,bass guitar, piano, and how to cut my own hair. If I never saw a small amount of growth in one of them I wouldn't be able to carry on and go to the next goal. Teaching myself the bass guitar was one of my greatest representations of growth emotionally and intellectually. It helped me realize that I shouldn’t chase perfection and only chase growth. With perfection there is comfort so there wouldn't be any reason to continue and become better. With growth there is always a reason because there's something to look forward to. That same philosophy of growth carried into the classroom, especially IB biology. During my freshman year of high school I took IB biology and even though I wasn't the best at the subject it always kept me interested because I saw the most growth and I noticed a lot of parallels to my personal life. For example, if one part of the cell was negatively affected it would affect the performance of the cell, very similar to how a band works together. I will never give up if I see any growth.

I've always found myself to value discipline and growth more than anything in the world. Seeing the smallest amount of growth in anything either a skill,a hobby, or work, I put it before everything else. The thought that perfection cannot be achieved is a downside to a lot of people but I see it as better. I see it as an opportunity for endless growth. Small things like teaching myself how to do a front flip off one leg at the age of ten, a backflip at the age of nine, the bass guitar, piano, and how to cut my own hair. Teaching myself the bass guitar was one of my greatest representations of growth emotionally and intellectually. Growing up I was taught to control and suppress my emotions before having the confidence to express them, so when I discovered the bass guitar it felt like a language that was invented specifically tailored for me. Having the ability to manipulate the mood of songs by changing something as simple as the key was like a reflection of how a person's tone in voice can make intention sound different. I saw this parallel very early on and it sharpened my communication skills. The very first time I realized how important music was to me was my first open mic with my friends when I was around 14 years old. I remember feeling so many emotions at once. Nervous, excited, upset, and regretful. It seemed as if everything that could go wrong went wrong. The rhythm guitarist’s low E guitar string broke an hour before the performance so we had to rush to get new ones and be back on time. The lead guitarist was running late and showed up about ten minutes before the performance.Going in front of 200+ people and being the center of attention was something I wasn't used to. Neither was playing in a band. As the band and I began playing,we naturally locked in with the song. The song drew us in and pulled me away. I was feeling the music over feeling anything. The audience's applause and screaming suppressed those previous emotions. This was a very clear time I felt a concrete and unbreakable emotion and it was all because of me seeing growth as a musician and wanting to expand on it. That emotion was pride. With this not even being my best performance and far from being perfect it was my most memorable because I saw the smallest amount of growth, and it caused me to be where I am today. It helped me realize that I shouldn’t chase perfection and only chase growth. With perfection there is comfort so there wouldn't be any reason to continue and become better. With growth there is always a reason because there's something to look forward to. This single experience has helped me understand a lot of things I want in my life and it helped me consider what I want to major in college. During my freshman year of high school I took IB biology and even though I wasn't the best at the subject it always kept me interested because I saw the most growth and I noticed a lot of parallels to my personal life. For example, if one part of the cell was negatively affected it would affect the performance of the cell, very similar to how a band works together. This reflects how even if I am not perfect in something, a small amount of growth will always be enough. I know I will never give up if I see any growth.

I've always found myself to value discipline and growth more than anything in the world. Seeing the smallest amount in anything either a skill, or a hobby, or work I put it before all the negativity. The thought that perfection cannot be achieved is a downside to a lot of people but I see it as better. I see it as an opportunity for endless growth. Especially in a world with so much inspiration. In order to grow and become better, discipline is always required. In order to have that you must have a certain amount of love to change for the better. You start by having the love for the game then being disciplined enough to work towards it then you see yourself grow into what you want to be. Small things like teaching myself how to do a front flip off one leg at the age of ten, a backflip at the age of nine, the bass guitar, piano, and how to cut my own hair. If I never saw a small amount of growth in one of them I wouldn't be able to carry on and go to the next goal. Teaching myself the bass guitar is one of my greatest representations of growth emotionally and intellectually. Growing up I feel as if I was taught to control and suppress my emotions before being able to have the confidence to express them so when I discovered the bass guitar it felt like a language that was invented specifically tailored for me. Having the ability to manipulate the mood of songs by changing something as simple as the key was like a reflection of how a person's tone in voice can make intention sound different. I saw this parallel very early on and it even sharpened my communication skills. The very first time I realized how important music was to me was my first open mic with my friends. I remember feeling so many emotions at once. Nervous, excited, upset, and regretful. This was a very clear time I felt a clear concrete and unbreakable emotion and it was all because of me seeing growth as a musician and wanting to expand on it despite being nervous,excited,upset, and regretful. It was pride. With this not even being my best performance and far from being perfect it was my most memorable because I saw the smallest amount of growth and it caused me to be where I am today. It helped me realize that I shouldn’t chase perfection and only chase growth. With perfection there is comfort so there wouldn't be any reason to continue and become better. With growth there is always a reason because there's something to look forward to. This single experience has helped me understand a lot of things I want in my life and consider what I want to major in while in college. During my freshman year of high school I took IB biology and even though I wasn't the best at the subject it always kept me interested. It wasn't my worst subject or my best but I saw the most growth in it throughout the years. Other subjects I would have a similar grade and interest towards it all throughout high school. This reminded me of how even if I am just interested and not very passionate about something a small amount of growth will always be enough to make me keep pushing myself to improve especially with a growing mind of curiosity and being growth hungry.

I've always found myself to value discipline and growth more than anything in the world. Seeing the smallest amount in anything either a skill, or a hobby, or work I put it before all the negativity. The thought that perfection cannot be achieved is a downside to a lot of people but I see it as better. I see it as an opportunity for endless growth. Especially in a world with so much inspiration. In order to grow and become better, discipline is always required. In order to have that you must have a certain amount of love to change for the better. You start by having the love for the game then being disciplined enough to work towards it then you see yourself grow into what you want to be. Small things like teaching myself how to do a front flip off one leg at the age of ten, a backflip at the age of nine, the bass guitar, piano, and how to cut my own hair. If I never saw a small amount of growth in one of them I wouldn't be able to carry on and go to the next goal. Teaching myself the bass guitar is one of my greatest representations of growth emotionally and intellectually. Growing up I feel as if I was taught to control and suppress my emotions before being able to have the confidence to express them so when I discovered the bass guitar it felt like a language that was invented specifically tailored for me. Having the ability to manipulate the mood of songs by changing something as simple as the key was like a reflection of how a person's tone in voice can make intention sound different. I saw this parallel very early on and it even sharpened my communication skills. The very first time I realized how important music was to me was my first open mic with my friends. I remember feeling so many emotions at once. Nervous, excited, upset, and regretful. This was a very clear time I felt a clear concrete and unbreakable emotion and it was all because of me seeing growth as a musician and wanting to expand on it despite being nervous,excited,upset, and regretful. It was pride. With this not even being my best performance and far from being perfect it was my most memorable because I saw the smallest amount of growth and it caused me to be where I am today. It helped me realize that I shouldn’t chase perfection and only chase growth. With perfection there is comfort so there wouldn't be any reason to continue and become better. With growth there is always a reason because there's something to look forward to. This single experience has helped me understand a lot of things I want in my life and consider what I want to major in while in college. During my freshman year of high school I took IB biology and even though I wasn't the best at the subject it always kept me interested. It wasn't my worst subject or my best but I saw the most growth in it throughout the years. Other subjects I would have a similar grade and interest towards it all throughout high school. This reminded me of how even if I am just interested and not very passionate about something a small amount of growth will always be enough to make me keep pushing myself to improve especially with a growing mind of curiosity and being growth hungry.

I've always found myself to value discipline and growth more than anything in the world. Seeing the smallest amount in anything either a skill, or a hobby, or work I put it before all the negativity. The thought that perfection cannot be achieved is a downside to a lot of people but I see it as better. I see it as an opportunity for endless growth. Especially in a world with so much inspiration. In order to grow and become better, discipline is always required. In order to have that you must have a certain amount of love to change for the better. You start by having the love for the game then being disciplined enough to work towards it then you see yourself grow into what you want to be. Small things like teaching myself how to do a front flip off one leg at the age of ten, a backflip at the age of nine, the bass guitar, piano, and how to cut my own hair. If I never saw a small amount of growth in one of them I wouldn't be able to carry on and go to the next goal. Teaching myself the bass guitar is one of my greatest representations of growth emotionally and intellectually. Growing up I feel as if I was taught to control and suppress my emotions before being able to have the confidence to express them so when I discovered the bass guitar it felt like a language that was invented specifically tailored for me. Having the ability to manipulate the mood of songs by changing something as simple as the key was like a reflection of how a person's tone in voice can make intention sound different. I saw this parallel very early on and it even sharpened my communication skills. The very first time I realized how important music was to me was my first open mic with my friends. I remember feeling so many emotions at once. Nervous, excited, upset, and regretful. This was a very clear time I felt a clear concrete and unbreakable emotion and it was all because of me seeing growth as a musician and wanting to expand on it despite being nervous,excited,upset, and regretful. It was pride. With this not even being my best performance and far from being perfect it was my most memorable because I saw the smallest amount of growth and it caused me to be where I am today. It helped me realize that I shouldn’t chase perfection and only chase growth. With perfection there is comfort so there wouldn't be any reason to continue and become better. With growth there is always a reason because there's something to look forward to. This single experience has helped me understand a lot of things I want in my life and consider what I want to major in while in college. During my freshman year of high school I took IB biology and even though I wasn't the best at the subject it always kept me interested. It wasn't my worst subject or my best but I saw the most growth in it throughout the years. Other subjects I would have a similar grade and interest towards it all throughout high school. This reminded me of how even if I am just interested and not very passionate about something a small amount of growth will always be enough to make me keep pushing myself to improve especially with a growing mind of curiosity and being growth hungry.

I've always found myself to value discipline and growth more than anything in the world. Seeing the smallest amount in anything either a skill, or a hobby, or work I put it before all the negativity. The thought that perfection cannot be achieved is a downside to a lot of people but I see it as better. I see it as an opportunity for endless growth. Especially in a world with so much inspiration. In order to grow and become better, discipline is always required. In order to have that you must have a certain amount of love to change for the better. You start by having the love for the game then being disciplined enough to work towards it then you see yourself grow into what you want to be. Small things like teaching myself how to do a front flip off one leg at the age of ten, a backflip at the age of nine, the bass guitar, piano, and how to cut my own hair. If I never saw a small amount of growth in one of them I wouldn't be able to carry on and go to the next goal. Teaching myself the bass guitar is one of my greatest representations of growth emotionally and intellectually. Growing up I feel as if I was taught to control and suppress my emotions before being able to have the confidence to express them so when I discovered the bass guitar it felt like a language that was invented specifically tailored for me. Having the ability to manipulate the mood of songs by changing something as simple as the key was like a reflection of how a person's tone in voice can make intention sound different. I saw this parallel very early on and it even sharpened my communication skills. The very first time I realized how important music was to me was my first open mic with my friends. I remember feeling so many emotions at once. Nervous, excited, upset, and regretful. This was a very clear time I felt a clear concrete and unbreakable emotion and it was all because of me seeing growth as a musician and wanting to expand on it despite being nervous,excited,upset, and regretful. It was pride. With this not even being my best performance and far from being perfect it was my most memorable because I saw the smallest amount of growth and it caused me to be where I am today. It helped me realize that I shouldn’t chase perfection and only chase growth. With perfection there is comfort so there wouldn't be any reason to continue and become better. With growth there is always a reason because there's something to look forward to. This single experience has helped me understand a lot of things I want in my life and consider what I want to major in while in college. During my freshman year of high school I took IB biology and even though I wasn't the best at the subject it always kept me interested. It wasn't my worst subject or my best but I saw the most growth in it throughout the years. Other subjects I would have a similar grade and interest towards it all throughout high school. This reminded me of how even if I am just interested and not very passionate about something a small amount of growth will always be enough to make me keep pushing myself to improve especially with a growing mind of curiosity and being growth hungry.

I've always found myself to value discipline and growth more than anything in the world. Seeing the smallest amount in anything either a skill, or a hobby, or work I put it before all the negativity. The thought that perfection cannot be achieved is a downside to a lot of people but I see it as better. I see it as an opportunity for endless growth. Especially in a world with so much inspiration. In order to grow and become better, discipline is always required. In order to have that you must have a certain amount of love to change for the better. You start by having the love for the game then being disciplined enough to work towards it then you see yourself grow into what you want to be. Small things like teaching myself how to do a front flip off one leg at the age of ten, a backflip at the age of nine, the bass guitar, piano, and how to cut my own hair. If I never saw a small amount of growth in one of them I wouldn't be able to carry on and go to the next goal. Teaching myself the bass guitar is one of my greatest representations of growth emotionally and intellectually. Growing up I feel as if I was taught to control and suppress my emotions before being able to have the confidence to express them so when I discovered the bass guitar it felt like a language that was invented specifically tailored for me. Having the ability to manipulate the mood of songs by changing something as simple as the key was like a reflection of how a person's tone in voice can make intention sound different. I saw this parallel very early on and it even sharpened my communication skills. The very first time I realized how important music was to me was my first open mic with my friends. I remember feeling so many emotions at once. Nervous, excited, upset, and regretful. This was a very clear time I felt a clear concrete and unbreakable emotion and it was all because of me seeing growth as a musician and wanting to expand on it despite being nervous,excited,upset, and regretful. It was pride. With this not even being my best performance and far from being perfect it was my most memorable because I saw the smallest amount of growth and it caused me to be where I am today. It helped me realize that I shouldn’t chase perfection and only chase growth. With perfection there is comfort so there wouldn't be any reason to continue and become better. With growth there is always a reason because there's something to look forward to. This single experience has helped me understand a lot of things I want in my life and consider what I want to major in while in college. During my freshman year of high school I took IB biology and even though I wasn't the best at the subject it always kept me interested. It wasn't my worst subject or my best but I saw the most growth in it throughout the years. Other subjects I would have a similar grade and interest towards it all throughout high school. This reminded me of how even if I am just interested and not very passionate about something a small amount of growth will always be enough to make me keep pushing myself to improve especially with a growing mind of curiosity and being growth hungry.