Personal Narrative: Maria Abbulone

When most people hear my full name , “Joann Botani," they automatically assume I'm Italian, but truth is I am actually Middle Eastern. From what I know my dad does have a little Italian in his blood but the name “Botani” actually comes from a city in Turkey. I come from an upper-middle class house hold and I have two younger siblings, a brother and a sister. Being the oldest has its challenges because there is so much expected from me whether it is school, work or social life. I tend to think my younger siblings have it easier because I am the one who pushes the boundaries with my parents and because of that my siblings usually get to do what ever the want because it is not as extreme as what I do. It has always been easy for my younger sister because she is the “princess” of the house but I am my dad’s favorite while my brother is a momma’s boy. My family is very competitive when it comes to school and grades, my little brother and I were always duking it out

Choir is something I deeply care about and it really does help me get through each day of school with a positive attitude. I am also one of the top choir students in our school, being accepted into all the top tier choirs at our school and making honor choirs throughout the state, but the All State Choir was the real prize. Only the best are accepted into it and I made it my sophomore year and I thought I would never face failure in choir. The next year however took a downward spiral. I tried out for the All State Choir the next year and walked in with confidence and pride. Then I sat with patience to waited for the results that were posted five hours later. When I looked at the list one name was missing and I

The most important activity I have done in my high school career is chorus. During school hours, we spend time preparing for concerts, and outside of school we have rehearsals, performances, extracurricular choirs, and concert tours in which we devote much of our time.

Last year, 2016, scaled to my first tournament that would be played at Marista. I would not

The youth choir has not only had a large impact on me, but everyone involved. Thank you for changing me for

Jane and I grew up in grade school together. She was in the class ahead of me, but her and I were still friends. My father was into politics and involved himself in whatever he could with Jane's dad. Since our fathers were away quite often, we would spend a lot of time together. Since Jane didn't have a mother, my mother would often include Jane in whatever my sisters and I were doing. We would have great talks together talking about what we wanted to do when we grew up. Even though neither one of us knew what we wanted to do, Jane was someone that always had the biggest heart for helping people. She was always talking about the stories her father told her about President Lincoln, and even though she didn't know how, she knew she wanted to be someone to make change like he did.

I almost got kicked from the vocal program. Well, not exactly, but in the moment I felt as if my world was falling apart. Before I knew it, I was in a technical varsity show choir and an on level show choir at the same time. At first I couldn’t handle it all but now it has become second nature with me and I’ve been able to make countless friends doing it.

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

On March 4th I went back home for the beginning of spring break to visit my high school, Smyrna High School. That weekend was I Love Smyrna School District Day where multiple events of all categories took place. I went there to see the performance of the music ensembles, but in particular to see my previous choir and how they were progressing. The choir was under its second year of instruction from one of the states most renowned instructors and the evolution of the choirs sound made that evident. Back when I was a senior the guys were vastly outnumbered so the female voice parts had to reduce their sound in order to create balance, but that wasn't enough since we only had roughly 5 tenors in an 80 person choir. This year was different though

Spring sophomore year: dedicating endless hours on voice lessons and skipping lunches, I practice for the audition. Acceptance into a select choral group means that you made it; you secure the corner and will succeed, or so I

A student who joins band or choir is most likely joining to try something new. Many students join to learn new skills like discipline or to sing/play an instrument. Along with learning a new skill, students can learn leadership abilities and time management. At Hebron Middle School, band/choir classes are important to many students. Although many students join band/choir, many do not find an interest or need to withdraw from the class. In many schools, 100% of students join band/choir and about 1-2 years later, at least 50% quit.

Choir and music in general are important in my daily life. Choir has been one of my most enjoyable classes in my freshmen year. If I am having a bad day choir has the ability to make

The greatest positive influence I have made has been due to my presidency in the Choir Program. Being choir president was my goal for three years, propelled by admiration of the other presidents before me. As president, I have given my all to heighten the standards of the choir program. I have instilled my own music theory lessons, giving self-created worksheets and quizzes to the program and teaching lessons that have less emphasis by the director such as sight reading. I dedicate my time to learning warm ups and teaching methods to engage my peers by going to vocal lessons individually from an outside source. Additionally, I strive to improve myself so that I may be reliable to my program; I desire to teach my peers to sing correctly and

At first, the lure of the school choir for me was the intricacy of the harmonious blend of all its parts. The unimaginable high keys of the soprano girls coupled with the subtle harmony of the altos and the bold hum of the tenors reinforced by the rich rumble of the bass boys left me awestruck every Sunday mass. The choir seemed to be able to render every song it sang with effortless dexterity and passion; they were truly a sight to behold.

As J.K Rowling once said, “Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here!” J.K Rowling could not have worded this quote any better. Words cannot describe the impact choir has had on me over the past four years. Choir has shaped me into the accepting, kind, loving, and passionate person I am today and it has steered me in the direction of my future career. Being a part of choir has been more than just learning music, it has taught me so much more than that. Through choir I have learned how to work as a team in so many different ways such as; helping others learn their music, learning how to blend, synchronising the breaths, rests, extra.. As well as working with others to bring someone up who is down in the dumps, or