Personal Narrative: Having A Female Cousin Join The Army

From Starting off with zero confidence and feeling like I didn’t belong, I have come a long way, most of that I owe to music. Choir is who I am, of the students here at PHS I fall under the category of “choir kid”, I am proud to wear that label. Along my way through choir, I have developed a love for fitness through choir. Some of the friends I have made through the years have been bodybuilders, they taught me to not care what others think of me, and if I did have a problem with what they thought, to prove them wrong, to show them that you can become. Music has made me into this person I want to be. I have found a true passion in music, choir has made me be into person I am. Its

Growing up I was always around musicians, and music interested me, but I was always steered towards more academics. I finally got into music in High-School. It made me rather nervous because here I was sitting in a room with people who basically played instruments and sung within the womb, and I was unable to even read music. So at first I asked my friends who were all music aficionados. Every second thing that came out of my mouth was a question about music. What was tone? How do I play a scale? What is moderato? And how on earth was I going to catch up to these kids? So especially in band I took control and I took my French horn home every weekend and practiced for hours, determined to meet my high standards.

Growing up with an autistic sibling and being a first generation Mexican-American student have shaped the individual I have become. My parents worked long shifts in

Moving from Guatemala to the USA. My whole family move to the United States; my whole view of life change. There was more to know. Many different thing and perspectives.

I chose to join show choir because I thought it would be a good way for me to leave my comfort zone and try something new and fun. The first time I thought of auditioning for show choir was when I saw them perform during my sophomore year. They sang and danced to a song titled, "Till the Love Runs Out" and the sound and choreography they did just blew me away. I knew then that I wanted to be a part of that choir.

When I was about seven years old, my family made the decision to move from the Philippines to the United States of America. This was a difficult choice to make for my parents, because my father could not come along due to the way immigration is set up in the USA. However, after my mother became an American citizen, she was given the right to bring my father over to the United States after nine long years. In addition, my two sisters along with my mother, were unable to see my father during those nine years. In essence, this was by far the most impactful event that happened during the early stages of my childhood, and this has given me the strength to persevere and mold my character.

I was sitting in my dad’s car while going to the store when he asked me if I wanted to join the band in sixth grade. I thought to myself for a moment, but decided I wanted to. When I agreed, my dad asked me what instrument I was interested in playing. Once again I thought for a moment and then I made my decision to play the trumpet. Joining band has shaped me into the person I am today, because I discovered something about myself that I probably would never have found, I made more friends, and I can now play a few different instruments and read most music.

I originally wanted to join the military to defend and protect our country, but realized that it wasn't going to bring the satisfaction I desired. I wanted to fight and defend closer to home, the one that involves Traffic incidents, Drug and DUI enforcement. One Friday afternoon, after getting out of High School, there was a video game tournament being held at a Movie Gallery just a few miles away from where I live. I attended the event and met a cool young man who was 18 years old at the time. I believe I was 16. I talked with him about games and the future tournaments that would be great for the community. It was the beginning of a wonderful new friendship. However, the next day at around 3:00p.m., my dad came into my room and told me he

Growing up, music has always been a passion of mine. I listened to everything and anything. I would go to jazz concerts, operas, orchestra performances, or to a rock and roll music festival. But that passion bloomed into something more as I grew older. It blossomed into wanting to learn an instrument. I got to seize that opportunity when it came time to attend middle school.

Joining 4th grade band- It was rewarding, because I was able to skip chorus and go to band.

My full name is Carlos Miguel Ponce and I was raised in a rather large family. I only have one sister but I spend a lot of my free time with the rest of my family. They have taught me many great lessons that will stick with me for the rest of my life. My Grandfather came to this country with nothing leaving both his wife and four kids in Colombia, who would join him once he was settled. It is from him that I get my work ethic from. He worked hard to feed his family, and somehow managed to even help friends who needed a place to stay. Although he may not have know it but he was truly a man for others. He was the closest thing I had to a male role model as my mom left my dad because of his addiction to alcohol. Unfortunately both my father and

Being raised as a latina has built me in innumerous unimaginable ways. Being born into my incomparable Mexican culture has set me apart from other ideals and beliefs that are so concurrent in the United States. Our unique linkage to traditions and homeland has ultimately made me into the persona I am today.

My freshman year I played trumpet in my school band where I developed my musical understanding of music notes, rhythms and pitches. But I hated playing the trumpet, I was never any good at it; however, one day thinking I was alone, I was singing through the halls and my music teacher stopped me and told me to join our chorus. From that moment, my highschool career changed.

My aunt was the one that provided me support,advice, and wisdom to me when times of difficulty. In the tenth grade, I thought of joining the Marine Corps. I wanted to join that branch, because I thought I wasn't good enough to go to college. I didn't have hope and faith to myself. My aunt told me that college isn't for smart people, its for the people who are dedicated to work hard and try their best. She told me that why would I give up on so much at the young age and leaving to go fight in a war, where young boys should not go fight at their age and not seeing their mothers one day, "War is not the answer, the world may not be perfect,but it is up to you to do something about it, Teddie." This touched my heart and started to tear me up.

Since the eighth grade I have been involved in choir in some way. I love it so much and and spent countless hours dedicated to my favorite thing in the world. My favorite part about it was show choir; the singing, the dancing, I was exstatic and always felt like I had found the place where I belong.