A known fact about me: I like to sing. A lot. So much, in fact, I've probably been singing since birth. I think my mom realized since I was always singing, she put me in my church's children's choir once I was old enough to be in it.

And I fell in love.

I fell in love so much in fact that I haven't ever really stopped being in choir. (I am now a second semester junior in college, so it's been awhile.)

So through all these years of choir, there have definitely been some lessons learned.

I thought I could share with you what choir has taught me:

1. Music is complicated.

Time signatures, quarter, half, sixteenth, thirty-second notes, accidentals, tempo, dynamics, harmony, dissonance, harmonic intervals, IT'S ALL TOO MUCH! Yet somehow, it all comes together to make some cool noises that are nice to listen to.

2. There's meaning behind everything.

I've sung a lot of songs and every time we sing a piece, our director asks us why the composer wrote this song in this specific way? Or why do we sing loud or soft in certain places, and why we emphasize certain notes/words in a song.

This translates to everyday life since there is always a deeper meaning behind something, and you should find out why there is. It helps you live your life to the fullest since you'll know why it happens.

3. You pronounce everything wrong.

American Midwestern accents shouldn't be too bad to understand, right? WRONG. We put too much emphasis on the letter "r." It's UNBEARABLE to hear someone sing an "r." (Country music, I'm looking at you). This rule also goes for "a" as in "aye." You don't hear it until you sing it.

4. Solfege is not so easy.

The Jackson Five weren't quite right with "do re mi" being simple. Have you ever had to translate a whole song by solfege? Get handed a song and be able to figure out the solfege in 30 seconds? Yeah, it's not so easy.

BONUS: if someone else sings "Doe, a deer, a female deer..." to me one more time I SWEAR TO GOD I will hurt them.

5. Sore throats = losing a limb.

Most of the time I just end up singing through a sore throat since I do not have the willpower to actually stop singing and wait for it to heal. When it's bad enough that you really can't sing, you really feel out of place. It's like you have to live your life differently for a couple days before you can start singing again.

6. Teamwork makes the dream work.

Of course, everyone learns teamwork is important for success. Because if you can't get along with others, then what's the point? But this has never been more reinforced for me than through choir. Every part is responsible for the song to sound good.

Even more, the individual needs to carry the weight of their section because if one person can't get it right, then the whole section can go down.

7. Choir dresses are the devil's work.

Have you ever worn something more uncomfortable and unflattering than a choir dress? I do not think so!

Of all my years in choir, there's a spectrum of slightly less terrible than most to the most disgusting.

And 9 times out of 10, you can't raise your arms past your head.

8. Hard work pays off in the end.

You could be working on one song for the whole semester and it's just so hard to learn you want to give up every day you walk through the choir room doors. It makes you even hate music all together. But somehow, the group comes together in the end and conquers all and makes it sound amazing.

Choir has strengthened my love for music throughout the years and I can never repay what it has taught me.