Personal Narrative Analysis

Ever since a young age I have known I enjoy being the center of attention. I aspire and chase after the satisfaction of performing perfect pieces of choreography. Whether that is hitting the right note in a song, or dancing my heart out on a stage. It makes me feel as though nothing is wrong and ignites endorphins in my brain. I'm in love with the feeling of my heart pacing fast, and then slowly easing into comfort the more time I spend on the stage.This love fuels the months of endless practice leading up. I was born with a voice and at 5 years old I was put in vocal lessons, at the local ABC Music. The first song I sang and played on the piano was "Part of Your World" from the little mermaid. I still hear the claps of the audience at my vocal instructors house. Singing is very meaningful to me, in fact I cannot stop myself, all my favorite songs just blurt out of my mouth. Music has the ability to evoke such deep emotions and beautiful voices aspire me to keep practicing.

This past fall, I was given the opportunity to audition for VA district 13's district chorus. As a member of the FUMA choir, I saw this as a breath of fresh air. Our choir is ok, but it has its strengths and weaknesses. Passing the audition would be easy, a short song and sight reading, I mean, it's not rocket science. Passing the audition with flying colors, I had about two months to prepare the chosen songs. (Learning a part solely by piano can be a long and tedious process, but thankfully we were provided practice recordings of our parts.) With only two months to learn my part, I hit the ground running listening to the mp3s whenever I had a chance to.

As I unlocked my jaw from my mouth, nothing came out. The director and the instructor stared at me with open jaws. They weren’t able to take me in because I had lost my voice. I was the quiet 14-year-old, who lost the ability to sing falsetto anymore. My only strength was my baritone voice, but the choir, at the time, did not start a boy choir in their choir yet. I auditioned yet again, but the same result happened; however, this time, they had troubadours for me to start my life in choir: The choir that is called the South Bay Children’s Choir (SBCC)

The nerves took control of my body, but I was prepared. Growing up in a Mexican-American household, I was introduced to the importance of music early on. Mariachi taught me that Hispanic sounds bring joy to one’s soul. Adaptation was slow, but it led to the development of my own distinct musical taste. Popular music dominates my heart. The lyrics embellishing themselves into my mind, the words softly spoken through my lips, the sounds of vibrations pitted against my eardrums. It was at this moment that I realized music would turn into a noteworthy piece of my future. At the age of 15, it finally struck me. I needed to consider singing as a more important factor of my life. Vocal lessons were required to meet my musical dreams. Coming from a

Smiling to myself at the memory, I thought of how much I had grown since that audition. I remembered the concerts I had performed in, the choirs I had tried out for, the sectionals I had lead. My growing confidence in my musical abilities had spilled over into other areas of my life, too: I spoke more in class and I no longer hesitated to try new things. I fondly glanced around the chorus room one last time, mentally absorbing every detail. I closed the door behind me, not feeling like running anymore, and strode the rest of the way down the hall, moving on to the next stage of my

One year ago when I went through the biggest event in my life. I found out that I needed to get both discs in my jaw removed and fill the empty spots with fat grafts from my abdomen. I had no idea what to expect, so I was very scared. After a five hour surgery, I woke up to find that my jaw was rubber banded shut. I was put on a liquid diet for two weeks and was not able the open my jaw for more than fifteen minutes at a time to allow me to exercise my newly created jaw joints. I had no idea how I was going to live not being able to talk or move my jaw. It was such a difficult obstacle to overcome.

Ever since I was accepted into A Capella Choir, I felt like the smallest fish capable of survival in the big pond. The seniors were actually good- they practiced, and they have been members for 4 years; I could never aspire to even equal these larger than life figures. Rather than working with us underclassmen,

The choir was composed of 7th and 8th graders, totaling just over 20. They sang classic Christmas music, and I must admit, I was very unimpressed. Yet, I remembered what it was like to be a middle schooler. At the height of awkwardness and anxiety in a person’s young life, it took some courage to stand in front of all these people and sing. As to the lack of complete amalgamation of their voices, I recalled (without much fondness) the terrible voice cracks that prevail in a young pubescent boy’s life which made me respect these middle schoolers more. They did have several moments where I caught myself tapping my foot to the beat of the song, so the choir definitely wasn’t terrible, they simply needed some more practice, (and maybe a tad bit more testosterone for the male baritones.)

From the moment I was able to tie my shoes and button my jacket, I knew I wanted to be a doctor. While all my classmates at the La Petite Academy made macaroni trees and smiley faces, I drew myself with a stethoscope curing a poor man with the cold. Every year in elementary school, we had career day. Never straying from my love to helping others I wanted to be a surgeon one year, to a dentist the next, and even an obstetrician, I changed my mind quickly once I found out what they did. Looking back on my childhood, I always had a connection with animals and always loved being around them. Early mornings I would open our nearly frozen-shut windows listening to the birds calling. Beside from the squawking of the crows, I heard a soft, pleasant yet curious bird call. It stuck out to me

Last summer was my most memorable summer so far. It was full of injuries, trips, and lots of my friends. I first took a dive straight off my horse, second I went zip lining on Mackinac Island in Michigan. After that I competed in my county fair. Next, summer will have a hard time taking the place of the summer of 2015.

I understand the reasons why I was not admitted; There are others with better scores, higher grades, finer essays, but I believe the circumstances that I had to endure through the past four years were not adequately expressed in my application. Having a terminally ill parent meant I was never able to be just a student. Homework started when visiting hours ended. While everyone was able to focus on their school work, sports or social lives, I spent my summers being a caretaker for my mom. I never thought that after 12 years of sickness everything would end; I had that gut feeling, but I always hoped it was wrong. I hoped that after all the pain, tears and heartbreak that my family faced over and over again that we would be able to have that

I am so grateful for an unexpected day off to be able to get my life in order. When the week begins, I'm in absolute "go" mode. I must admit I don't like the feeling. There's a sense of anxiety that comes along with it and I can totally do without it. Today, I've become increasingly aware of how dangerous it is to be mentally somewhere else. There's a beauty and an ease that comes with staying in the moment and focusing on what's on your plate at that moment. I'm a total proponent for goal-setting and love doing that. However, we can't get so focused on where we're going that we don't appreciate and enjoy where we are. With that being said, here are my goals for this week! :)

All throughout my years in school, I have experienced many lows and highs. I have encountered many different types of friends that have made me who I am now and those who have made me better than before. I’ve been through really bad moments; especially in junior high and elementary. I can still remember clearly the names I got called for being ‘round’ and dressed like a little girl. It got to me, but it didn’t stop me from me being me. I had the chance to remove toxic friends from my life and move on. During my childhood, I had lived with my aunt and cousins, as well with my parents. We were all under the same roof and did things together. My dad eventually didn’t get along with my aunt and uncle which ended bad. We eventually moved out and moved into an apartment. I had to sleep with my mom because my dad didn’t have the money to buy a two bedroom house. I lived under that condition up until junior high. Things began to turn out good and it was until then that my dad surprised me with something. He got a raise in his job and purchased a home with two bedrooms! I met new people and I eventually became friends with someone who ended up being my best friend until the end of junior high; we got

In my choral class no one would point out flaws Instead, they would help guide you to the correct path. Throughout high school, I never heard anyone in that class say “you're doing that wrong or that's not how you do it.” Instead, they would tell them “you're a little off, but you're getting there keep trying” and they would show them the correct tone or pitch so they wouldn't stand out during our performances when It came to my classmates I knew I could count on them to help anyone with their

      As I lift my head up and open my mouth, my voice escalates with every tune that comes out. The soothing words bounce off of my tongue and release the tension held within. Even if the sounds aren’t perfect or correct, every little bit helps me get through the day. When stressed, nothing helps me more than singing. My passion for singing comes from deep within my soul, mind and heart. When I sing, I sing with all of me, putting everything I can into it. I have always had a great passion for singing, ever since I was young. Although I am shy and still get nervous and shaky in front of others, in my own time, singing is my cigarette, my alcoholic drink, my escape from all the anger and the pain.