Posts by burton300

burton300

Oct 28, 2014

Undergraduate / Eyes, with pride - Lourdes music program [7]

The experience I've had as a member of the Lourdes music program has had a profound impact on my life. It has influenced nearly every nuance of my life, most notably my willingness to try new things, academics and self-confidence.

I joined our grade school band in 5th grade, ecstatically blowing on the saxophone for the first half an hour. Upon discovering that I was not miraculously a brilliant saxophonist, I grew to despise the saxophone, and, by association, band. [...]

burton300

Oct 28, 2014

Undergraduate / Eyes, with pride - Lourdes music program [7]

I revised the last paragraph, what do you think? In regards to the unnoticed portion, nobody knows that it was this important to me, but I'm not sure that I need to attempt to explain that.

In 8th grade, I was suicidal. I had no friends, and was being made fun of more often than not. I felt useless. This all changed when marching band season started, as band camp brought new friends. When I was sitting alone at lunch, a group of upperclassmen would have all of the freshmen get in a group and start chatting with us: Nobody went friendless if they were in the band. With their persistence I soon had a group of good friends for the first time. An essential part of marching band was confidence, and I was not exempt. Every practice would begin with a posture drill, making sure that my back was straight, shoulders were back, and chin was up. It was very difficult to feel lowly in that stance. The biggest confidence booster came at the competitions, however. Before every show the band would gather in a circle, and the seniors would talk to us about how important we were, and that by being a part of this band, we were great. Every circle would close with the seniors yelling "Eyes", the response to which was "With pride"

burton300

Oct 28, 2014

Undergraduate / Eyes, with pride - Lourdes music program [7]

I made some revisions to the first paragraph. It's rough and a little awkward, but do you think it solved the adversity issue?
I joined our grade school band in 5th grade, ecstatically blowing on the saxophone for the first half an hour. Upon discovering that I was not miraculously a brilliant saxophonist, I grew to despise the saxophone, and, by association, band. Two years later, I switched to the trombone, my mother hoping it would convince me to like band. It did not. As with the saxophone, the trombone required the dreaded practice. I spent the next two years begging my mom to let me quit band and be like all the "cool" kids. She responded by saying I could quit once I got to high school, which was a lie. By the end of 8th grade, I was registered for band, and, despite an impressive amount of whining, would soon grow to appreciate my mother's decision.

burton300

Oct 27, 2014

Undergraduate / Eyes, with pride - Lourdes music program [7]

Consider something in your life you think goes unnoticed and write about why it's important to you.

The experience I've had as a member of the Lourdes music program has had a profound impact on my life. It has influenced nearly every nuance of my life, most notably my willingness to try new things, academics and self-confidence.

I joined our grade school band in 5th grade, ecstatically blowing on the saxophone for the first half an hour. After that however, I soon grew to hate it. I despised the saxophone, and, by association, band. Two years later, I switched to the trombone, my mother hoping it would convince me to like band. It did not. As with the saxophone, trombone required the dreaded practice. I spent the next two years begging my mom to let me quit band and be like all the "cool" kids. She responded by saying I could quit once I got to high school. When it came time to register for classes, however, she had decided (with persuasion from my sister), that I needed to try the high school band for a year before I could quit. By the end of 8th grade, I was registered for band, and, despite an impressive amount of whining, would soon grow to appreciate my mother's decision.

Marching band quickly taught me that I had to work to be acceptable. It was expected of me to fit in exactly with the seniors in high school. Throughout the entire summer I was pushed to work harder, and practice more. With the help of my sister, who was a senior, I was dragged through the season. The work that the season required felt like a slap to the face after slacking in everything I did for so long. I came into my Freshman year knowing for the first time how to work.

In 8th grade, I was suicidal. I had no friends, and was being made fun of more often than not. I felt useless. This all changed when marching band season started, as band camp brought new friends. When I was sitting alone at lunch, a group of upperclassmen would have all of the freshmen get in a group and start chatting with us: Nobody went friendless if they were in the band. With their persistence I soon had a group of good friends for the first time. An essential part of marching band was confidence, and I was not exempt. Every practice would begin with a posture drill, making sure that my back was straight, shoulders were back, and chin was up. It was very difficult to feel lowly in that stance. The biggest confidence booster came at the competitions, however. Before every show the band would gather in a circle, and the seniors would talk to us about how important we were, and that by being a part of this band, we were great. Every circle would close with the seniors yelling "Eyes", the response to which was "With pride"