Natasha Aybar

Dr. Guenzel

ENC 1101

Section 12:00-1:15

October 9, 2017

Paper 1 Draft #1

Commented [1]: Still in need of a title

Throughout my life there were many factors that have made me into the person I am

today: softball, drawing, writing, strongly prioritizing my academic, and several others.

However, I found that I had a passion for performing music, and it has had the most influence in

shaping me into the person that I have become today, and it has affected the way I live my daily

life. Through the support of several friends, family, and my teachers, as well as my self

motivation, music and performing will always have a special place my heart. From beginning to

the very end the overall development of my music career was positive, including the several Commented [2]: Could possibly be in the conclusion
instead of introduction
bumps in the road, and although there was a constant struggle, through it all I gained life lessons. Commented [3]: Could possibly be in the conclusion
instead of introduction
My music career began in 5th grade when the elementary school I attended implemented a new

policy, all 5th grade students must enroll in a fine arts class in order to continue to middle

school; the choices consisted of choir, band, and orchestra. With this new policy came new

opportunities, and personally I decided to enroll into the orchestra program with the hopes of

playing the string bass. These hopes were quickly diminished after the first day of class when my

teacher informed me that I was too small to play the string bass. Of course, hearing the news

that as a 411 ten year old I am unable to play the instrument I was ecstatic to learn, it was very
hard to swallow. The next best thing would have been the cello, if my teacher had not also stated

that my hands were too small to wrap around the neck of this instrument. Therefore, I was

forcibly placed into the viola section. I constantly blamed myself for this, I thought I was at fault

for my small size. However after a few months, I realized it was not something I can control, and

I began to grow into enjoying my instrument and physically grow as well. I was practicing every

night to better myself, and the class was a lot more enjoyable after I was able to accept

everything that had happened this year within orchestra, and being able to carry this mentality

into the upcoming years.

When I began middle school, I continued to strive towards success, which resulted in my

placement as first chair violist in sixth grade until seventh grade . However, my transition into Commented [4]: Am I supposed to write out the
numbers?
eighth grade was not as smooth, as my family announced that we would be moving to Orlando,

FL. We moved the summer between seventh and eighth grade, to an area in which the middle

school I would be attending did not have an orchestra program. I had spent the entire first half of

the school year attending this school, while my parents eagerly searched for a new school zone

that would have placed me to attend an A graded high school, as well as have an active orchestra

program. These years were the years they had truly began to support my orchestra career, and

strived for only the best opportunities for me. Mid-January we moved to an area called Avalon

Park, where I was zoned to attend Avalon Middle School. This school did have an orchestra

program, however because of the first semester of not playing I had to be placed into a seventh

grade class to catch up on my skills. This made me practice more because of the want to advance

past the bumps in the road.

The high school I was zoned to was Timber Creek High School, a school that had a

graduation rate of 98% and an orchestra program that included a full Philharmonic Symphony
and was very well know for receiving superior scores at the Music Performance Assessment

every year. The stakes were high for an entering freshman at this school, and this was my first

time experiencing a placement audition. In this audition, we were required to play a scale of our

teachers choice and an excerpt from an unidentified piece. The results of this audition is what

made me really push to better myself to look good for colleges, and in case I decided to pursue

music in the future. My audition resulted in me being placed in the lowest group of three,

Serenade. This really hit me hard because as an individual who dreamed of being successful in

everything she does, it really set back me back on the progress I wanted to achieve. However, my

parents really supported me more than they already had after this, as well as my orchestra

teacher. She had worked several days to find me a private lesson instructor so that I could

improve to get into a higher group in future years. Her efforts along with the support from my

parents, with them attending all my concerts, providing financially, and giving personal

feedback, I was able to succeed much more than I would have without any of the things they did

for me.

That following year I had to audition to see where I would be placed for my sophomore

year, the result of this audition placed me into the middle group, Concert. This obviously showed

that I had improved from my previous years, however I still wanted to be a part of the highest

group, Symphony. Although I was not in this group, I was selected to play in our Philharmonic.

This meant I had to attend rehearsals every week and practice even more to stay in this group as

well. My free time consisted of sitting in my room in a sea of sheet music, with sore fingers and

a cramped wrist. I put my all into this year of my high school career, day and night there was

always an effort being put in to improve my orchestral career. Although there was a struggle

juggling academics and performing arts, I was still able to manage my time well enough to
where both areas were equally balanced and receiving the attention they needed. I also wanted

to start looking good for the college I would be applying for in the very near future, and next

year was the most important year to come.

Eleventh grade was the most impactful year in this entire experience, I was placed into

the high group, Symphony, the main goal I had all through high school was finally achieved. But

what was really impactful was when I was hired at Burger King which meant I had to put a lot of

time into my new job and less into my orchestral career. This was a tough concept to grasp and

adapt to considering I had just put so much of my time into this program, to have to pull away

and dedicate most of that time to get working experience was very hard to do. More than half of

the time I spent rehearsing and bettering myself was sacrificed. My time management skills were

really put to the test as well, with having to balance a job, orchestra, and academics, I had a very

full plate. Also, having to explain this to my teacher, who had dedicated so much time to helping

me, was the hardest part of it all. She did not get mad, she did not yell, but she did congratulate

me and support my decision a lot, she accommodated my needs and was able to excuse me from

rehearsals, and provide extra help when I needed it.

As I entered my final year of high school, I stayed in Symphony and Philharmonic, still

worked at Burger King and was applying to colleges. While I was searching for schools, and

orchestra program was a must have just in case I did decide to continue playing my instrument.

This year was the most stressful of all the years, I was really struggling to keep my academics up

due to the amount I had on my plate, which meant I dedicated even less time to orchestra and

more to better my academics. But playing my instrument was my relief from it all, I used it as an

escape now more than ever before. I persevered through and continued to strive just as I have

done all these years of conflict and struggle, and in the end it all paid off. With the support of my
family and teachers I was able to graduate with a 3.7 GPA, enrolled into the University of

Central Florida, and although I am not currently performing within an orchestra I now will

always have a passion for music. My future plans include eventually joining an orchestral group,

possibly at UCF or elsewhere, finding a way to volunteer within the performing arts community,

and most importantly in the far future I wish to pass my instrument down to my children and

teach them the importance of admiring music as well as help them develop the same passion my

parents helped me to develop throughout the years.