Determination The concert hall was filled with hundreds of people all squished together like a can of sardines. Not a single seat was empty. Audrey sat waiting and filled with anticipation to hear the orchestra play. The director lifted his arms in a motion that resembled a bird about to take off in flight. All eyes and ears turned towards the stage. Not a sound was heard but the enchanting notes that came from a silver glimmering rod. From those few notes Audrey knew she wanted to play the flute, but her middle school band director, Ms. Boland, handed her a trumpet. Audrey sat in her chair looking at the trumpet in pure disgust. She thought to herself why me? She watched as other students in her class were handed the instruments of their
dream. As her anger rose Audrey raised her hand up in the air like an arrow being shot from a bow. She wanted to know why she was given the trumpet. Ms. Boland answered her question and said that she would be a perfect fit for the trumpet because of how short her fingers are. Audrey wasn’t satisfied with her answer, so she asked Ms. Boland if she could try playing the flute. She said no, so that whole week Audrey protested by not playing the trumpet. Finally, Ms. Boland gave in. Audrey was given two months to prove her wrong. If she failed the chair test she would be put back into the trumpet section. As the second month came closer all you saw was how hard Audrey practiced. She practiced every day for an hour. She wouldn’t do anything until she practiced. Audrey wasn’t going to let Ms. Boland prove her wrong. When the day came for her test she was nervous, and her palms were sweaty. She sat down in her seat and Ms. Boland told her to play the b-flat scale. When she played, she didn’t miss a single note. Ms. Boland was shocked. She couldn’t believe that Audrey was able to reach every single key. That very day Audrey became the first chair flute player. From middle school to her senior year in high school Audrey played the flute. She won twelve medals in the seven years she was in band all because of her determination. If she would have never stood up for what she wanted, Audrey wouldn’t have achieved her dream to play the flute. From this experience, Audrey learned to never let anyone tell her what she can and can’t do.
At only three years old, Ma learned to play the violin and viola. Under the direction of his father, Ma became a fluid violinist. Around the age of 5, he began to beg for a much larger instrument to play. Had he been left alone to select an instrument, he would have chosen to play the double bass. Of course, his parents knew the bass would be much too large for Ma to play, so he compromised, and decided upon a cello. It was very difficult for Ma’s parents to find a small enough cello for him to play upon, so Ma had to learn to play a viola with an endpin to simulate a cello.
By looking at Boy Willie and Bernice’s relationship with their parents the reader is able to see the obligation to the men and women in their life who shaped their belief on what should be done with the piano.
As I walked into the room of my fifth grade music class, filled with all sounds of color, I quaked at the thought of making a decision that could possibly change my life going into junior high. I sat down on the black chair putting this glossy three-valved brass instrument to my face, and as soon as the dark sound of the trumpet emerged from my vibrating lips, I knew this was the one for me.
That's what I thought. The season changed with cold rains and blistering chills to blooming flowers and emerging birds. It was spring, and the school year would be over soon. This is when I finally knew why everyone hated her class. Mrs. Williams gave us the dreaded and most painful oral, The Play. It consisted of singing, dancing, acting, and prancing across the gym. Could it get any worse? This was Mrs. Williams' fourth grade class, of course it would. On a piece of paper...
Mrs.Flynn announced,”Class this is Daylen,she will be joining us. She plays clarinet so Ashleigh will you show her where her instrument will go.”Mrs. Flynn walks over to her computer doing who knows what. I still can't believe this girl who is a firework is going to be in this school. It's like the school pulled her here. I snap out of my daze and look around, Mrs. Flynn is starting to walk over here. Oh no did I say something out loud? Mrs. Flynn asks “Keith you have a lot of the same classes with Daylen
The story of my life would simply be titled "determination". Throughout my life I have always been determined to get what I want. I was never a child that asked mom and dad for something and got it, I worked for it. From a young age my mother made me do chores around the house in order to go outside and play with my friends. As I got older, nothing go easier, chores turned into jobs, and my income turned into my alliance. However, one thing that I did realize is that working without passion is not very enjoyable. I began working at a Restaurant as a host, which is not the most glamorous job out there. Fortunately, the Restaurant I worked at was looking for a new local marketing team. Once I heard what the job entailed I jumped on the opportunity;
The sound filled the air. It almost made me forget my back was tired from sitting so upright in this uncomfortable wooden pew. As I watched, I found myself wondering how in the world someone can make their fingers move so quickly. Not to mention, her feet and fingers are moving at different rates. She completely fit the image of a concert pianist with her long, sequined red dress, red lipstick, and platinum blonde hair. She looked like she belonged in a grand concert hall, instead of on the stage of our small church.
The first time the young girls encountered big noise was at their very first dance concert. Athol Williby School of dance held a dance concert every year for all of it’s student s to show off the hard work they had put in all year. The young girls were really excited because this was there first concert in front of hundreds of people, they didn’t want to get a move wrong. They’d been practising...
Nora was walking down the street she lived on, just outside of Marshalltown Iowa, not able to think of what instrument she wanted to play in her music class. She just moved into Marshalltown about 9 days ago because her family thought they needed a change in scenery. They were fairly wealthy compared to most that lived in Marshalltown. She already got to see her school and her classes and one of them was music, which had 1 variable that the other classes didn’t. She had to choose what instrument she wanted to learn to play.
“Yawwn!” I stretched his arms and tried to pull myself up. Only I couldn’t, “hmmmm,” I said out loud to myself. “It seems as if I can move from side to side but not up. I wonder if I can move downwards.” I turned and saw that I was on the floor, but I wasn’t on the floor of my house. I was on something that looked like silver dust. I found something next to me that looked like a Fitbit tm. I picked it up (or across) there was a sticky note on it that said. “Hello, newcomer if you are here that means that you have gotten here correctly. Press the button to create a gravity sphere.” I looked at the Fitbit-like thing and pressed the button. I realized that I was able to get up again. I saw that the note said bubble so I took it
...embered something Dr. Sternbern had told me before. He said he had seen lots of students try to excel at too many things. It usually resulted in them being unable to do their best at anything. So, my thoughts continued, I should pick one thing to do my very best at, and then work hard in the other areas with the time and energy I have left. A smile of understanding slowly spread across my face. Through my lessons, Dr. Sternbern had taught me many things about playing the viola, but what I had just begun to understand was, perhaps, of even greater importance. I realized now that this truth, more than any technique, would allow me to reach my goal of playing the viola to the best of my ability. Sighing happily, I tilted my head upward, breathed in the refreshing fall air, and, with a well-aimed, departing kick, sent half a dozen more spike-balls shooting off the ramp.
I believe determination makes even the most out of reach goals achievable. I’ve learned this through experience, and although my stubbornness gets me into trouble sometimes, it also has helped me do things I’d never dreamed of happening otherwise. When I was eleven, I got my first job. I’ve been working ever since, and have managed to pay for everything from a laptop to an international trip. I’ve seen Phantom on Broadway, Yo Yo Ma in concert, and cruised the Amalfi coast with my high school orchestra. These are all things that were typically unavailable to my family, but I was determined to go. I worked as a babysitter, dog groomer, and a cashier to finance my various adventures. While this determination has taken me around the world, it has also helped me closer to home.
This is a personal story to me, to understand this story we will have to start at from beginning. I hope you enjoy this story and it is both entertaining and heartwarming to you as I am sharing a personal event in my life. Join me on this journey of discovery as I unveil one of the darker mysteries in my life.
I could feel my heart pounding out of my chest as I walked over to where I would perform my solo. My accompanist, Helen Griffin, nodded her head and smiled at me in assurance that we would sound great. I smiled back, and gained confidence that the solo would indeed be wonderful. The judge acknowledged me, and I stated my name and the title of the piece. After taking a few deep breaths, I raised the instrument to my mouth and began to play.
When I was younger, I never questioned anything. I never asked why it was me who was overlooked. Or why the other kids treated me differently or even when was I leaving. I couldn’t ask much because my spoken English was limited and clumsy, my sign language was better but not many Americans knew sign language. While communication was cut off, fun wasn’t.