Looking back at my history with music, it’s not surprising to me that I’m planning on pursuing a career in music education. It first began when I started my music journey in 5th grade. My whole life I never could figure out what I wanted to do or what I would even be good at. I tried numerous sports and nothing worked. I was so scared I would never have anything I would ever be good at; doomed to a life of mediocrity. So I decided to give music a chance At first it was just a simple hobby; something to do for fun. But as I grew as a musician, I could see the potential in me. Being a gay little boy in southern Louisiana was not easy. All I saw around me, whenever anyone like me was mentioned, was hate and disgust. I knew I had to express myself and my emotions somehow. Since I couldn’t turn to anyone for advice, I instead turned to music and the arts. Having to hold in a secret about my identity felt like I was holding 100 pound weights on each of my shoulders and my chest. I was scared and isolated from my peers. Music helped relieve that tension though. I could channel my emotions through my instrument and let out those feelings that I couldn’t articulate with words. It was a magical feeling. As a little 7th grader in middle school, I didn’t even see the great things it was doing for me and my mental health. Once I was finally ready to come out as a freshmen in high school, things got better! I grew to become more comfortable with myself and how to express myself. I also became a better musician! I learned to play instruments like French horn (which is the instrument I currently mainly play on) percussion, trumpet, and saxophone! As college grew closer, I pondered on what I could do for the rest of my life. I considered things like nursing, or psychology. But nothing fit quite right. I decided I wanted to pursue education in some way because I enjoyed showing others how to figure things out and watch that lightbulb appear above their head as something clicks. But no subject felt quite right. And then it hit me! It was so obvious from the start. My love for both music and educating left one option so plainly in view: pursuing a career in music education. Now from all of that, you may be wondering how or why I chose education over music performance or music composition. The answer is quite simple. As stated before, my desire to belong to a group and my background made music a safe haven for me. My band directors taught me so much wisdom. They taught me how to be kind, to listen to others, and to create art. I want to pursue education for the little kids like me who felt like they never belonged; like they weren’t meant to be accepted. And to show them that they’re wrong. There is a place for them to express themselves; there’s a place where they could finally feel like they found their thing, their talent. I want to show the little me’s out there that it gets better.