Why Music Matters by Calista

Why Music Matters by Calista - January 2023 Scholarship Essay

Every day I entered the band room, I felt my stress float away and my nerves jump with excitement. I would always look forward to creating music with some of my closest friends. We would put our instruments together, play, laugh, and have a great time. It was the best part of my school day, and it allowed for a great mental break between hard classes. It also allowed me to build closer friendships with those around me and to build life-long skills. Because of these reasons, band should be a required elective class.
If band is required, then students will most likely feel less stressed throughout the day because band serves as a mental break from other classes such as math, science, or English. This could increase the overall happiness of the student because they now have a way to relieve the stress they are feeling. In addition, music fosters creativity. It is extremely important for students to not just have STEM classes or language classes throughout the day because creativity is often something that is looked for by potential employers. They like to have outside-of-the-box thinkers so they can create new strategies for whatever they are working towards, and music is a great way to build that creativity in students.
The band room, at least at my school, was a place to have fun while also fulfilling our potential. We would work hard, but we would also make jokes and connect with those around us. It formed deeper connections and allowed for friendships to be made that otherwise may have never happened. Something truly magical happens in the band room. When everyone is creating music together, suddenly it does not matter what religion, race, sexual orientation, or gender identity you are or what ideologies you have. Everyone is working together to create great music, and that kind of collaboration is something that is deeply needed in our world today. If band is required, then everyone would be able to learn about and take part in this collaboration.
In all, band is an important class that should be required. It teaches life-long skills, provides a brain break to students who work hard for the rest of the school day, and builds friendships and collaboration. Playing in a band strengthened every aspect of my life, and I would love for all students to feel the same way.