Voices of Freedom by Angel

Voices of Freedom by Angel - September 2017 Scholarship Essay

Choir tremendously changed the way I viewed education, especially when it came to HOW I learned. When I first started high school, as a little thirteen-year old , timid freshman my very first class was choir, and it changed my entire life. I learned that when you’re trying to retain information or memorize some song (or perhaps a formula in math), you should always use the people around you! I know its seems like an obvious thing, but when you’re new to an environment asking someone next you “What does this mean?” or “Do you meet up after school to go over this?” it can be the most terrifying thing on planet earth. Regardless, when I did start to use the people around me I learned that people can be some of the best resources when it comes to education. I became, and still am completely amazed by how useful other people’s learning techniques can benefit you too!
Continuing, another incredibly valuable lesson Choir taught me about education was that it can be an opportunity for chains to be broken. In school whether it be primary or secondary each person has their own individual reason for learning, and I learned that very early on in Choir once I started to get to know people, well the REAL them. The Choir room, was a safe zone, and each person knew each other on a very personal level. I remember one time I found myself crying because I felt each and every one of my classmates’ pain as they told me their everyday battles. It took courage, and comfort to boldly proclaim “My mom has a drinking problem” or “I don’t know my father” some even had tragic stories of being raped and molested, but their hope was education. I never understood how one’s personal story can tie into their motivation to graduate or get their PDH. Yet now I finally understood that for my classmates’ education was their way out of their crazy life’s, it was a gate that would open the door to many possibilities. That these accomplishments would be theirs. That their education was never affected by their income, their pain or their past, but it was based on what they could actually control in their lives.. their drive.
Indeed, Choir has been my gateway for me in the way I view education. It’s quite interesting that the classes looked upon as non-important can be the classes and make your view on education do an entire 360. It’s always more than the books and the words, we should look around and see what we discover. As for me, I learned that people can be a powerful tool for learning, and that there’s an immense power in education because of its ability to set someone free.