To push myself to work hard
People look at me walking past them to my classes and think that I am shy or cold and do not really care about them. To me, this is hard to notice because I am actually a very good listener and empathetic. That is why I enjoy working as a youth group leader in my church. By being a leader in my church, I allow others to open up to me and share with me their experiences. This happened most recently last summer at my youth camp. When the campers and the leaders were sitting in a circle around a bonfire towards the end of camp, we decided we would throw into the fire a piece of paper with something about what we wanted to get rid of in life written on it. This could be anything and did not even have to be real; you could even throw your worst memory into the fire. This resulted in many emotions from people, and I felt so touched by how open people were with me and how they allowed me to pray for them and be there.
One place where I can let all of my emotions out and just be true to myself is when I am in band. I play the saxophone, which I have played for 11 years now. I feel like the saxophone has helped me portray my feelings and emotions and allow me to push myself to work hard for not just myself, but the entire band. A defining moment in my life was when SPU’s Symphonic Wind Ensemble and I performed at a concert for Washington Music Educators Association State Conference in Yakima, WA. We had been working hard, so that we could best portray our songs at the concert. At the end of our concert, we got a standing ovation, and I could tell how much our performance has affected the audience. This really proved to me how many emotions and feelings can be communicated through music.
Some life lessons that I have learned throughout my life are to place family first and to be kind and caring to others because you do not know what their life is like. I hope that by telling my story I can show others that even though I may look shy or cold at first glance, I am a good listener and empathetic at heart.
