Music will forever hold a special place in my heart. I'll never forget the 7 a.m. practices and the countless hours touring with my friends. Being involved in choir throughout middle school and high school has given me the opportunity to travel across seas and perform concerts in some of the most amazing venues. The arts have shown me the diversity of communities from Colonial America to Europe. Music is a form of life that binds people together in ways even we do not understand.

I have to thank the community I grew up in for their constant encouragement and charity. Without them my experience would have been much different from what it was. Their charity allowed me to travel to both Spain and Ireland to perform in environments that I could only dream of. I also must give thanks to my high school choir director for not only advancing my knowledge in music but my knowledge of life. He was not only a teacher to me, but a man who taught me what it meant to be a kind human being. He gave me confidence because he saw the potential I had as a musician and as a man.

Many people view choir as a means for a better GPA without much effort. However, I view music as another form of communication, as a way to further develop the emotional relationship between two beings. While music did boost my GPA, it was not the only reason I took the class. I found myself falling in love with the pieces I sang in class. The shower, the halls, and any other quiet place suddenly became my private practice room.

Music transcends culture and time. A piece of music written 700 years ago can still move an audience to tears the way a song written within the last year may. The emotional draw that this form of art brings isn't comprehensible because of the way it can touch people differently. The words in a song can have many meanings to those listening to it, as well as the structure of the piece itself.

The overall effect of art on a humanity is astounding. Every day we are bombarded with visual and audible art. From songs on the radio to the changing of seasons we are unaware of the amount of art we see. Music has given me an insight to the world I might have missed. It has shown me love, hate, life and death. I have found comfort with tunes in the best and the worst of times. Music heals old wounds and opens new ones.

My life would be incomplete had I not been given the opportunities that the arts have given me. In it, I have found my best friends and have learned valuable life lessons. My passion for music will never grow old even though I have stopped singing in choirs. Music is art and I am so blessed that I've found a piece of myself in it.