Quietly Singing by Tyler

Quietly Singing by Tyler - March 2013 Scholarship Essay

Very few people have had a truly significant impact on me. My parents come to mind, but parents always have an effect on their children. My friends do too, but they’ve only impacted me in the last year or two. But very few people I know have been drastically changed by their choir teacher.
On my first day of high school, I was the typical scared and uncertain freshman. I tried my best to go through the day unnoticed. However, near the end of fourth period I realized that choir was next, and I started to get excited. I’ve always been a singer, so I assumed that the music room would be a refuge from the rest of the unfamiliar high school. It wasn’t.
After getting lost on my way, I got to class very last. I was greeted by a horrifying sight. A row of loud, tall people was stretched out across the room… giving each other back massages. Part of my brain was immediately revolted by the thought of having my personal space violated, and I was tempted to run out of the room then and there. Instead I stood there petrified with fear, hoping I was in the wrong class.
Upon seeing my hesitation to join the standard warm-up line, my wonderful, understanding teacher told me flatly, “This is not optional.” I suspect she encouraged my classmates to push me in any way possible that day. They would randomly hug me and invade my space. The members of my section would randomly ditch class, leaving me to sing alone in front of the rest of the class. They forced me to think independently and not rely on her for all my direction.
This was a period of change in my life. Choir did not, to my dismay, allow me to be the timid, uncomfortable person I was. I began as the quietest voice, and am now among the strongest. I am now the one who my peers look to when they need help. I cannot thank my choir teacher enough for dragging me out of the dungeon of my own inhibitions.