Never in a million years did I expect to walk through the doors of room 103 and meet so many incredible people -- people who share my love for singing, students who have an intense drive to get better at their craft, and a teacher who taught me so much more than how to read music. In 2012, however, this is the exact experience I got. Looking back at myself as a chorus freshman, I see a girl who was too nervous to audition for solos, didn't understand how to write ledger lines, but ultimately a girl who didn't yet realize how chorus was going to be to her high school experience. Oh, how things have changed. I began to audition in class and now people have to beg me to stop singing long enough for them to get their sentences out, I can successfully sight read a piece of music and I have a lot more insight on to how important our chorus family really is, so thank you.
Thank you to Mrs. Boliek for providing all of us with a choral program that is truly like no other. I can't even begin to describe the comfortable environment that is room 103, and that is all thanks to her. The experiences that are offered to us as Riverside chorus students are incredible: I've met (gotten a selfie with) and sang for Governor Pat McCrory twice, I've traveled to New York and performed with other schools in Carnegie Hall as a piece of the National Youth Choir, and I've performed in multiple venues across New Orleans whilst taking in incredibly enriching history and holding cute animals.
Thank you to the awesome people who sing with me on a daily basis in my section for making me love and embrace alto notes. Most people aim to be sopranos, and while those beautiful notes that seem to float are fabulous, I love that we were able to be the low foundation for our ensemble.
Thank you to the wonderful ladies in our Sirens ensemble for being such an open and supportive group of people. Singing with a group of people most often makes that group closer and it's definitely what it did with us. Being able to have compliment circles on a daily basis at the end of class brought us together and reminded us that even though we may have some occasional conflict we are still family, and each of our differences are pieces of a puzzle - when we come together to sing, those pieces fit and they make a beautiful picture.
Thank you to Reflections, an incredible group of young women that Kaitlin and I had the pleasure of working with this school year. Being able to build relationships with all of you made every single trip to the copier worth each step. You made me want to improve my own skills so that I'd be able to better help you -- and I think the second semester of senior year was when I finally began to understand 6/8 takadimi. Thank you. Thank you for realizing that I make mistakes and that I'm not perfect. It's intimidating to walk into a large room of young women on the first day of school and try to figure out how you're going to make everyone in that room like you, and I never felt disliked or unwelcomed. It's with absolute honesty that I can say 3rd period was my favorite one of the day.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you for show week, because it taught me that while details may seem small, they are what make the show. Thank you for giving me the confidence to sing on a stage and never feel judged. Thank you for laughing at my corny jokes and puns when you didn't have to, even though I still think #turntle is hilarious. Thank you for blaming me every single time someone dropped their binder - I don't fully understand it, but I enjoyed it. Thank you to Kaitlin for being an awesome co-TA and bonding over make-up with me. Thank you a million times for everything you all have not only given me, but taught me. Thank you for being classmates who became friends who became family. Thank you for sharing our incredible musical experiences with me. And finally, thank you for making a giant high school feel small.
So much love,
RichieDollaz
