Undergraduate / I have always been one to try something new, especially involving music [2]

Hey guys, just looking for some input on this piece. I put it together in about 10 minutes and I'm sure it needs to be revised. Also, it is currently at 173 words and needs to be cut down to 150 words.

I have always been one to try something new, especially involving music. Before I started high school, I had made a goal to make the jazz band. On my first day of high school I found myself at the bottom of the totem pole after being one of the top saxophone players in middle school. I was among twenty five saxophone players competing for only two spots in the jazz band. My thoughts quickly shifted to despair, but I had worked too hard to relinquish my goal. At the end of my freshman year, the band instructor announced that he was looking for people to switch to trombone. That was it! That was my ticket to jazz band. At first, the transition was rough. The trombone was nothing like the saxophone. Notes that looked familiar to me had different names for the trombone. My junior year, I tried out for the jazz band and was selected to join the ensemble. I had achieved my goal, even if it meant taking a different route.

Thanks!