I didn't care about music until 7th grade. On my second day of school, right after moving to Charleston with my mom. I had general music that day, so I'm sitting there, by myself, and I look upfront to see the 'Trial instruments', so obviously the first thing I do is say I want to join band, mainly because I couldn't do volleyball that year, so I wanted to get my mind off of it with band. So on Thursday, the next day in general music, I'm trying the instruments', and immediately take a liking to woodwinds (Saxophone, Clarinet, flute, etc.) And pick flute. And my band director, who I consider one of the most positive and best male figures I've had in my life, had so much faith in me, in all of us. So over the months we do concerts, everyone gets better, people leave and join; I made new friends, and I even got into all county, as the only flute from my school, and Mr Leonard, our director tells us he was so proud of how many people got in. The last concert we had was April 28th. The day after, a Friday, he gets us all to pay attention to him up front of the room ( where I first saw the instruments) and he tells us he's moving up state to go take care of his mother. Not a big deal right? Wrong, the happiest and my favorite teacher ever, was leaving right before our last year, leaving everyone and everything behind here. And Mr Leonard goes on to tell us that we can't leave right after he does, because 'we just liked him, and he failed us because we were to supposed to learn to love music.' Which hurt, it was painful to hear that he had said that to us, after telling everyone that we helped him through his depression when his dad died right before school started. So I gave a normal reaction for a 13 year old, I cried, and cried; with my friends, over the mutual hurt we felt. It wasn't right that all the work he had put in was wasted, down the drain and he was picking up and leaving, leaving me, all of us . He taught me to love music, and all it's flaws, no matter how difficult it was to play. 7th grade was the past year of my life and I wouldn't change anything about it, not ever. Mr Leonard taught me to love music, and what music means to me is a safe place, solace from my struggles, it's a way to bring people together, to tell a story. It's a career path to me, a way to express my gratefulness for my 7th grade band director; to inspire other people to want to help people like how he did to me, how he supported me through my choices, when I came out, all of it. I want to offer that comfort through teaching children music, that's what Music means to me.
