Early Morning Music by Michelle

Early Morning Music by Michelle - October 2014 Scholarship Essay

Every morning at about 7:25 a.m., I take the long trek from the Great Bend High School parking lot to the band room. The band room is in a quiet, sectioned-off area of the school. It used to be the school swimming pool, but despite this, it’s quite smaller than you’d imagine. The only way to get to the band room in the morning is through the gym—which is a pain if some event is going on in the gym that day, because then you have to go upstairs and back down around the upper floor of the old gymnasium. Every morning I talk to some of my fellow band members—I know each one by name, as any well-to-do drum major should—and talk to my band directors. Sometimes, if I am feeling hungrier than usual that morning, I’ll bring a banana or an apple to eat for breakfast. At 8:00 a.m. sharp, I’ll start taking the attendance. Sometimes my band directors ask me to run an errand, and I happily oblige. However, I run it as quickly as possible; my first hour is most definitely not one I like to miss. Lately, we’ve been working on our marching show. It’s cold and bitter outside on the football field, especially atop my podium. We run through set after set, occasionally joking about marching or joking with our band directors. All of us have a good laugh with each other every day, even in the freezing wind and rain. Some days, we’re out on the field at 7:00 a.m. This is not an easy feat for many teenagers. However, the band sticks through and trudges on.

This is my ideal classroom environment. My varsity band class is a classroom that I arrive early to just to see the people I care about. It is a classroom that is secluded and quiet, yet bursting with energy. It is a class that I go to no matter what. It is a classroom where I am comfortable enough to talk to everyone and anyone, and occasionally eat breakfast if I am running short on time that morning. It is a classroom where I am trusted enough to help others, and I trust others to help me when needed. It is a classroom where no matter what the weather is, we all stick through it together in order to form a successful group. Above all else, it is one that has helped me succeed in my education because it is a safe haven where I feel welcomed. I know it has succeeded as well, because next year I plan to begin working towards my Music Education degree. A good classroom environment is an environment that affects you for the rest of your life, no matter how large or small the difference.