The Universal Language

Music is the universal language...something that anyone can listen to, understand, and appreciate.

Listening to music is one thing, but playing is another. When you are making music with a group of people, all who share the same love, passion, and talent with you, you can't help but smile and think, "How lucky am I?" When you're in a band, they aren't just musicians, they aren't just friends, they're your family, and the band room is your home away from home. The same goes for any other type of music...orchestra, chorus, even a small rock band practiced in a garage and performed in a coffee shop on Friday nights.

I'm in the band program at my high school and I love it. It is one of the few things that make me truly happy in life. When I play with my friends, I feel that all is right with the world, and when we perform and the audience stands and cheers, I feel that I am truly making a difference. During the fall, we march, and although it is hard, grueling, even painful work, it is also extremely rewarding. We all work towards a common goal, and it makes me feel warm inside, knowing that in the end, all of our hard work really will pay off. At the end of a good run, whether it is during a rehearsal or at our final show at FMBC, you stand there, frozen in place with your horn in your hands, panting, completely out of breath, and you are filled with a sense of such happiness, such exhilaration, that the corners of your mouth turn up, your teeth show, and you don't even notice, nor mind, the beads of sweat rolling down your face.

Music can bring such happiness to a listener, but also to the player, who works so hard to play their best...to play their heart out...to play their soul out.

Music truly is the universal language, but it is also so much more than that. Music is love, happiness, and excitement. Music is life.