My Dearest Director,

I have so much to thank you for. You were the biggest influence on my life because band was such a big part of my life. I never expected it to be, but it was and I’m so happy because you taught me to be better, not just musically, but personally. You showed me that I’m part of something much bigger than myself so I must do my part in everything I do and do it to the best of my ability. You taught me that I also have to trust the people around me because most of the time, they have the same goal in mind. You also taught me to push myself to the limit and the push that limit a little bit further.

My parents always wondered why I spent so much time and energy in band. You were a big part of it. You are one of my biggest role models because you gave us the respect we deserved, and expected the same from us. It felt like we were more than just your band; it felt like we were a part of your family too.

You trusted us to get done what we needed to, from memorizing music to taking care of grades, and though we sometimes we let you down, which ultimately meant we let each other and ourselves down, you were still proud of us and what we did accomplish. You were open with us and because of that we knew when we needed to dig deeper.

There were a lot of times when we knew we weren’t doing enough and we knew we were failing, so we pushed ourselves to be better and make you proud of us.

I’m so happy to be able to say I was taught by such an amazing person and I thank you so much for helping me become the person I am today. Without you, and without band, I’m not sure where I would be.

With love and gratitude,

The girl who would always get you food during period five.