More Points For Recovery
What choir taught me about life.
I started choir my 8th-grade year in middle school, but that year prior I had joined a small jazz choir that met once a week in the library. It was this small group that encouraged me to join the school’s choir. This was the year where I started to fall in love with music more and more as the years of my life went on. It was also the first time I had to sing in front of a group of people.
In 7th grade, I sang Jesus Take The Wheel in the school’s talent show, and in 8th grade, I sang Think Of Me from Phantom and the Opera as a solo during one of our concerts. It was those two years that gave me confidence in my singing abilities.
Fast forward to my sophomore year in high school. I am in my school's top traditional choir and my director is telling us about the state competition that happens every year, but first, we had to qualify.
We practiced and practiced and sang and sang until we got it right, and if we messed up she would stop us. There was one moment during one of our songs (one we had really been struggling with) where we finally fixed the part we kept slipping-up on. The smile on my teacher’s face made the whole choir light up with excitement.
After that moment, my teacher took a step away from the piano to tell us this: “You will get more points from slipping up and recovering than from doing it perfect the first time.”
Even four years later, that is something that I have told myself even outside of the choir. I don’t sing anymore, besides in my car and in the shower, but that way of thinking I know will always benefit me.
It’s okay to struggle and then push yourself to get better because that’s how you learn and grow. I will also lead you to lead a more fulfilled and satisfying way of life.
