I want to pursue a career in audio engineering. I am attending San Antonio College and majoring in Music Business to follow this career. Music Business is the official major for all music production at San Antonio College; they focus on many topics such as audio production and music marketing. I first learned about this music program through Fredstock, a music festival created and led by the students in the Music Business program. I saw how each student used what they learned and applied it to creating and working at the music festival. Before I attended Fredstock and learned about San Antonio College's Music Bussiness program, I initially planned to go to trade school to learn audio engineering and music production. I thought that was the most cost-efficient and innovative way to reach my career goals, but I was wrong. Without attending that music festival, I would've never known about the program and would have spent more money and time on my education. I first became interested in audio engineering during the pandemic lockdown. I was stuck in online learning with little communication with friends and family, and I would spend most of my time glued to a screen watching youtube or scrolling through Instagram. During this time, my taste in music grew through different genres. I would learn about different types of music and their impact on people and the music industry; this fascinated me. I found a podcast created by the lead singer of Jimmy Eat World, where he interviewed many people from the music industry and asked each person about their creative process for creating songs and albums. One interview with music producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen shaped my future. This interview focused on what instruments and sounds go well together to make a song. After listening to that interview, I became more interested in the structure of music, how different instruments complement each other, and what goes behind the scenes when forming a song. From here, I learned about another music producer, Jerry Finn, who was very influential in the music industry during the late 90s and early 2000s. He became my icon. I listened to many of the songs he helped produce and deconstructed each one to hear each detail. After I finish college, I want to support local and small musicians to create a name for themselves and grow the music scene in my city. I believe that this benefits society by growing a community under one interest. Building and growing communities are beneficial in more ways than one; they can bring people together, share social issues, band together, and create a more safe and friendly city. Helping smaller, more local artists is a part of growing a community. When an artist is part of the community that enjoys their music, the music becomes more personal. Music is a way to bring people closer together, and it can positively affect society by positively affecting communities. I want to be a part of this positive outcome by helping from behind the music scene.

Last summer, I shaved my head; it was the most liberating feeling I have ever felt. This act set me free. It started a new me. A me who didn't listen to others' opinions or the little voice in my head that said I wasn't enough. After that moment, I changed myself for the better. I started wearing the clothes I wanted to wear, learning about the topics that interested me (and not what we were told to learn in school), and was not afraid to show off because I had confidence in myself. In my opinion, this is the boldest thing you can do. To free yourself from expectations and live the life that you want. Of course, skydiving is another way you can live boldly, but I'm pretty sure that's everyone else's answer.

I want to pursue a career in audio engineering. I am attending San Antonio College and majoring in Music Business to follow this career. I first became interested in audio engineering during the pandemic lockdown. I was stuck in online learning with little communication with friends and family, and I would spend most of my time glued to a screen watching youtube or scrolling through Instagram. During this time, my taste in music grew through different genres. I would learn about different types of music and their impact on people and the music industry; this fascinated me. I found a podcast created by the lead singer of Jimmy Eat World, where he interviewed many people from the music industry and asked each person about their creative process for creating songs and albums. One interview with music producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen changed my outlook on the future. This interview focused on what instruments and sounds go well together to make a song. After listening to that interview, I became more interested in the structure of music, how different instruments complement each other, and what goes behind the scenes when forming a song. From here, I learned about another music producer, Jerry Finn, who was very influential in the music industry during the late 90s and early 2000s. He became my icon; I listened to many songs he helped produce and deconstructed each piece to hear each detail. Before having a passion for audio engineering, I had no intention of attending college. I did not know what to do with my life and struggled to motivate myself. Finding a career that I enjoyed was a life changer. I started caring more about my education and my future. This newfound passion led me to be more social and attend local events. These local events would be concerts or music festivals where I would meet like-minded people to discuss similar interests or learn new things. One of the events that I attended was Fredstock, a music festival created and led by the students in the Music Business program at San Antonio College. I saw how students used and applied their learning to work at the music festival. From here, I knew that I had to join. If I had not attended that music festival, I would have known about SAC's program and most likely would not have pursued audio engineering as a career. Pursuing an audio engineer career has given me a sense of direction, a path to follow in life, and a reason to look into the future.