Art has always been a part of my life, just as much as school or academics. Throughout my life, I’ve tried a bunch of different disciplines, with some of them sticking around for a long time and others coming and going. While I’ve moved on from most forms of physical art–my drawing and watercolor phases were pretty short lived–I’ve tended to stick with the performing arts, specifically music and theater.

I’ve wanted to play music for as long as I can remember. When I started first grade, my wishes were finally granted, and I started piano lessons. I was so excited to get my new piano, which my family got from our neighbor’s yard sale. Everytime I sat down to play, I was so happy, even though my hands didn’t sit right on the keys and my feet couldn’t reach the pedals. 

Throughout the years, I’ve continued to play piano. I’ve worked through slumps and increasing busyness to keep playing because I love music. I love how playing music allows me to relax and clear my mind, and I love when I can make a song sound good. I’ve also found that as I’ve played longer and longer songs, my attention span outside of music has increased, which has been so useful for me in school. 

Luckily for me, I’ve had more avenues to play music through school. I’m not a big singer, but I do think I learned a lot about working in a group and ear tuning by spending eight years in choir. While I never took much to choir, I’ve loved band since I joined in fifth grade. I play flute, and I’ve always found it interesting how different it is to playing piano. I had to learn so many things, like breath control and embouchure, but the biggest difference has been playing in a band. This has taught me how to listen to others and adapt in the moment to fit the needs of the band. 

While music has been central to my life, so has theater, and I’ve learned so much from it. I joined the drama club my freshman year. Community theater had been a part of my life off and on since I was seven when my schedule permitted, but with theater I had a consistent way to act. I love acting. I can leave my worries behind and completely throw myself into a play, and I can make decisions about how I think my character will react to certain situations. This has allowed me to examine people’s motivations and background and how that influences my character’s actions. This aspect of theater has helped me understand people in real life, and I can more closely look at why people may do the things they do. Because of this, I am able to feel more empathy for people and connect with them better.

Being so involved with art has irrevocably changed my life for the better. Obviously, being a part of performing arts brought so much joy, as music and acting are both huge passions of mine, but I’ve also become a better person because of it. I’ve learned so much about working in a group, collaborating with others, focusing for long periods of time, and even empathy. Because of this, I will always be thankful for the arts as well as loving them.