I am passionate about music because it is an intricate language that allows for unique experiences to occur. In my experience, listening to music and making music have been different, but what connects them is the expression and emotions they can evoke. Not only is it a form of expression, but also a community builder. As a young child, I was drawn to the violin and viola, and how cool people looked while playing them. I believe that what kept me in music ensembles and continuing orchestra during my middle school and high school years was the community that was built with my fellow peers and music teachers. I looked forward to orchestra class, to take my violin out and make sounds that would sound better year after year. Friendships I made and kept were because we had something in common, maybe not look-wise or family-situated-wise, but we could collectively look at a sheet of paper and make music together. As I look back, I can see how much the skill of learning an instrument and about music and making music with others played a role in my development as a person. Not only was I learning how to play a scale on the violin, or what a scale is, I was learning how to practice, persevere, and have patience with myself. It has been through music that I have found spaces in which I feel safe and able to express myself though the rest of my life may be in chaos. I am studying for my K-12 license in Instrumental Music Education. Few things were stable in my childhood days, and thankfully being able to participate in the orchestra programs at different schools helped keep me grounded. As an educator, I hope to be a supporter to my students, while also being someone they can look up to. I want to offer a place in my classroom for students to talk and form bonds with one another and be able to form a community connection between making music and the times before and after class that are more social. By talking with them and getting to know them, I want to offer moral support with words of encouragement, replicating what my music teachers have been able to do for me. I also plan on finding ways to make participating in an ensemble or music at school more accessible for all students. Not all schools or districts have the same backing of the arts as the one I was fortunate to be part of, so I will work to fill the missing elements, whether that be attaining more instruments for more students to participate, or talking with parents and school board members. Though music can be brushed aside as just an elective, I want to communicate to parents and guardians that it is worthwhile for their students to be part of.

I am passionate about the creative arts because they are more than a form of expression. Through the creative arts, we can find communities while developing skills knowingly and unknowingly. Sometimes words are not enough to capture feelings and thoughts in a moment in the same way that a painting or a combination of sounds can. The creative arts allow for this to happen, almost like a language of its own. For me, this has mainly happened with music, being able to create and listen to music more analytically as I have continued to learn more about theory and technique and apply those to my performances within ensembles, and in my solo work. This would not have been possible without the resources offered by the school district I attended, where the orchestra program was not completely brushed aside, and many teachers made learning and playing more enjoyable. Their sincere smiles and support helped create a comfortable environment, in which mistakes were allowed, and perseverance was worked on to help us students continue to advance in our playing skills. As I reflect on my earlier years of study on the violin, I think about the skills I learned and worked on unknowingly, such as resilience, self-reflection, and perseverance, as they were not out-right talked about, but they were skills that I built on as I progressed through middle school and high school orchestra. Though music is not a ‘core’ subject in school, many life skills were worked on. I enjoy being able to share this with others, especially my family members that do not support my intention of going into the music education field, as I can tell them that, while music does give little information about the natural world, it can serve as a bridge between human creativity and the material physical world. I know that the creative arts in general allow for this sort of learning and experience, which is often not appreciated. Lastly, Danzòn No. 2 by Arturo Marquez is the most important piece of music to me. When I listen to it, I remember a difficult time in my life when I first encountered this piece around tenth grade. I remember that my family and I were able to surpass the challenges that arose around this from caring for my grandmother while her Alzheimer's disease kept getting worse, to accept that there is only so much we can do for her mental state. Yet excitement rushes through me as the music goes along, partly due to the way the tempo increases as the piece goes on, partly because I remember how it felt to sight-read the music for the first time. One of the ways I enjoy learning new music is by listening to it while holding my written part, and the first video I encountered of this piece was with the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. Dudamel looked like he was having so much fun up on the podium, I had to look this guy up. His involvement with music and teaching younger students resonated with me and helped me understand his excitement on the podium, allowing the piece to flow and be lively. Amidst some chaos in my family life, learning more about this piece and Dudamel provided some comfort in knowing there is hope for the future, and music can play a role.