I can't say that my choir life had auspicious beginnings. In fact, you might even say the opposite. Honestly, I hated choir back in the day. Let me rephrase that. I despised it. Wait, that didn't come out quite right. I loathed it. Darn, that didn't sound too good either. No matter how I sugarcoat it, the real truth is the same. Choir and I didn't really get along in the early 2000s. Nope, not at all. Every week, I'd complain and drag and complain some more about how choir was such a useless waste of time and how it was soooo boring and how I thought it was so pointless and I'd never get anything out of it ever and it was draining our income and how I should quit. Immediately. Some of my worst memories back in the day were from choir. Boring, boring, boring, getting in trouble talking in class, boring, boring, accidentally eating a dog snack, boring, boring. At this point you could say choir and I had been having a turbulent love affair. Heck, you could barely call it a love affair.
Slowly as I grew older, thing started looking up. I don't even remember Rainbow, Red, or Orange. In Yellow we took a trip to San Diego, that was pretty fun. I have some memories from that trip, staying up eating junk food and playing pranks. Those were good times. I started thinking, 'Hey, maybe choir's not that bad.' The next year, we took a trip to New York. That was pretty good too. Could it get better from here?
The answer? Absolutely! I got into Concert level and I think it was around then that I started making friends. Yeah, that's right, friends! Amigos! Peng You! Buddies! Pals! There was the Italy trip, and that was pretty fun. I got my first taste of singing with the Young Men, and that was great. One more time, could it get better from here?
The answer? Yes Sir! I reached the Youth/Young Men's group and times were good. No more struggling every rehearsal with airy falsetto, fighting to be heard. I wouldn't say I hit the ground running though. It took me a long time to get my feet wet. I wasn't the most confident child ever, so it took me a while to get to know people. Plus, we had a conductor named Roger. He was kind of boring. Reminiscent of the times in lower levels. Still, it was pretty good. I met some new people and grew closer to the friends I already had. Choir began to take a more prominent place in my life, right up there behind school and then swimming at the time.
Then, this year came. Roger out, extra Young Men time in. The music we sang this year was exciting and fun. With every passing rehearsal my confidence grew, I learned a bit more. Once in a while, maybe I talked to someone I never talked to before, and maybe made a new friend. I'm never going to say I made rapid progress. That's not how it was. But slowly and surely I grew to really love choir. It's kind of like a flower. Flowers don't grow over night. They take a while to develop. Plus they take alot of sunshine, water, and fertilizer to grow. But when they finally grow out to their full potential, they're beautiful to behold. That's me in choir. I took, and am still taking, alot of time to develop. Plus, I need alot of sunshine and water to develop. I'll pass on the fertilizer though. And I don't quite know how I'll turn out yet. It could be good, maybe bad, perhaps average. Anyways, what really capped off the choir year for me was the annual concerts and the Canada trip. At the annual concerts, it hit me that the end was already here. 'Woah, that was fast. That was a fun year. I really learned alot. I'm looking forward to next year.'
Canada was the experience that really opened my eyes. I've written my thoughts on it already, but to sum it up, it was incredible meeting all of these people and to share our music together. Yet another amazing experience was to see people moved by our music. That's something that somebody outside of the musical world will never understand, the power of music.
I consider school and choir the two most important things in my life. I also consider them two completely different worlds. At times, school people can be cold, criticizing, harsh, unaccepting, and generally unwelcoming. I can honestly say that I have never found choir like that. Choir people are always supportive, kind, caring, and welcoming. If I had to describe the way I see it, I'd say that I consider most of the people I know at school friends, associates, and good friends. I'd call choir people family. That's what we are. We back each other up and are always there for each other. We cherish the happy times together and support each other in the bad times. How many school friends can you say that about? Probably a handful.
The graduating seniors and alumni always tell me how lucky I am to be so young and have so many years left in choir, and how I should cherish it well. In earlier years, I was naive, and would think nothing of their words of wisdom. I'm just now fully realizing what it means to be a chorister and appreciating the opportunities that I'm receiving as well as the experiences I go through as part of the choir. I consider myself beyond lucky that my parents forced me to stick with it through all of the years. I'm eagerly anticipating my last 3 years in choir; I have no doubts whatsoever that they will be amazing.
To everyone who is a part of choir, thank you for being a part of the best part of my life.
Much Love
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