I think I can safely say that my high school experience was very different compared to the typical “American” high school experience. I went to maybe five football games while I was in high school, which I learned was pretty bizarre once I got to college.
Chorus took up most of my time during those four years, and I wouldn’t do anything differently if I were given the opportunity. From trips around the world to hours of after school rehearsals, it’s time to say thank you to the woman who made me the musician and person I am today.
Thank you for pushing me.
I was the youngest person in my class my first year of high school, and it was terrifying. I sat among upperclassmen who had done the chromatic scale (with the hand signals) so often they didn’t have to think about it and knew the warm ups like the back of their hands. On my first day of class, you passed out 10 songs and we had to write the solfege in all of them. I didn’t know how to spell any of the solfege syllables, and I remember you looking at me square in the face and saying, “You spelled all of those wrong… someone help her,” and you quietly walked away. Thank you for not treating me like the freshman I was and for making me figure it out on my own.
Thank you for forcing me to manage my time.
It is safe to say that being in the advanced chorus in high school while also being the captain of the soccer team was no easy task. I constantly had to choose between practices and rehearsals, performances and games. As miserable as I thought it was back then, I now know why you made me chose. In life we have to make decisions based on what is best for us, and choosing priorities is never easy. Thank you for teaching me the valuable lesson that sometimes you just have to pick one and suffer the consequences of missing the other, as angry as it may have made me at the time.
Thank you for showing me the world.
I traveled to Germany and the Czech Republic, Boston, San Francisco, and Charleston all under your watch. Whether we were singing in churches, winning competitions, or simply singing for flight attendants on the airplanes, those trips are four that I will never forget. Thank you for being brave enough to travel with someone as wide open as me and for showing me how much the world has to offer.
Thank you for the music.
I know I’ve thanked you for this so many times, but I can’t say it enough. Music changed my life in ways I will never be able to put into words. Music brought me to my closest friends, helped me heal when I was hurting, and allowed me to express the joy I felt when I was happy. Thank you for showing me that music is more than notes and lyrics; that it is a universal language that has the ability to changes lives.
You are one of a kind. You have a passion and love for music that is infectious, and there are not enough words to thank you for all of the time, love, and heart you poured and continue to pour into our high school’s choral program. Thank you for being the most incredible teacher I have ever had, and thank you for the music.
