Evolving Dreams by Hailey

Evolving Dreams by Hailey - June 2017 Scholarship Essay

Six-year olds have vivid dreams for their adult life. Some want to be astronauts, and others want to be veterinarians. Although many of them will change their dream jobs, some will stick with them for the rest of their lives. When I was a little girl, I changed my mind as to what I wanted to be, and only recently did I decide what I wanted to do with my only life. At two, I crashed the stage of my mom's band she hired to play at her Halloween party to sing my rendition of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". As a six-year old, I began to have a passion for music. That stuck with me, and at six, I wanted to be a famous musician. Although my goals have somewhat altered since then, that dream has influenced major parts of my life.
Throughout my childhood, my favorite subject in elementary school was music. I looked forward to it on the days music was scheduled into our curriculum, and I absorbed every bit of knowledge my teacher taught us in music class. Every year, he would put on a music showcase in class where we could get in front of our peers and perform. I was always shy, so when I would get up to sing, I'd always have to play the original music behind me in order to feel better about myself. Over those few years, he built my confidence up enough to make me try out for the first ever talent show at my school. I was hesitant, but after performing in front of 1,000 other children, the stage felt like home to me. My first debut in front of my peers helped boos my confidence in my ability to sing.
Middle school was extremely hard for me. My mom had to homeschool me and my brother due to the fact that my grandmother was fighting cervical cancer. She had treatments two hours away, and there was no way we'd be able to make it to school. It was difficult on us at first. I had to babysit my brother while my mother took care of my grandmother. During this time, my music "career" struggled because of the lack of time spent nourishing it, so it was put on hold.
After my grandmother passed away before my seventh grade year, my mother found a group that others kids like me were in so I could make friends. There, I met a lot of artsy people who inspired me to take up music again. I begged my mom to let me take vocal lessons, which led to me taking guitar and vocal lessons. My first guitar was (and still is) an item I cherished. I learned quickly how to play, and I began performing in from of people again. I felt like I had found my place in the world with my guitar in my hands and a microphone in front of me.
High school came around, and I decided it was time to transition back into public school life. After a few months, I had a couple of friends invite me to their church. I had been wanting to go to church for a while, so I said yes. I went, and that night I got to experience the youth band lead worship. It intrigued me, so I built up the courage to talk to the music director, Joe. Joe had me take a few more vocal and guitar lessons, and I got put in the band. I had never performed with a real band before, so being with them made me feel like I was whole. I learned skills on how to cooperate with others playing different instruments, which led me to learn ukulele.
Joe encouraged me to pursue music as a career, and for a while, it was a dream of mine. I didn't know what I was going to do with a music degree, but it seemed like it was meant for me. Joe gave me more vocal lessons, and he helped connect me to people that are known for their music skills. During this time, I grew as a musician, and I eventually became the leader of the worship band a year ago.
Although I loved music, something didn't feel right to me when I started to research what I could do with a music degree. My dream would be to perform for a living, but it didn't seem that logical if I wanted to be able to fully support myself and a family someday. This caused me to switch around as to what I wanted to do with my life. My options made me conflicted as to what I wanted to do, but recently, I narrowed down my search to psychology. I love how the mind works, and I love helping other people in need.
Although I have changed my dream job, music will always be a part of my life. It gives me comfort nothing else will, and I feel as though I can express who I am through performing. I've grown into the person I am today because of music, and I will always be grateful for the people who have helped me achieve my knowledge and skills I possess today. For me, it might only be part-time, but it will fully be a passion of mine.