With my past six years of playing flute, I would say that I am at an advanced level in this area. I first started playing flute in the start of the fourth grade, when my new school in America ｒｅｑｕｉｒｅd me to play one instrument. It was my first time ever playing an instrument, which made me exhilarated. I still remember the first time I opened the case, when a sparkling and silvery instrument came out. I cannot recall what I said when I first saw the flute, but I believe I said something like “it’s exquisite!”

On the contrary to my expectations, learning and improving my musical skills in playing flute was many times tedious and exhausting. During my lessons, I kept staring at the clock and hoped the lesson would end. However, I have never even thought of changing the instrument or giving up. Thus, in the middle of my fourth grade (after sixth months of playing flute), I started to recognize the keys and play a myriad of songs. There, I felt a strong connection with my flute and was enthusiastic to practice flute daily. 

A year later, I auditioned for two major honor bands called “Southern California Honor Band” and “Irvine Honor Band”. With my confidence gained from practicing, I was able to get in without any hardships. There, I was able to meet other skillful musicians, who encouraged and supported me to continue playing the flute. Although I did face various challenges when I moved to higher levels, with the sense of achievement when I felt after mastering one piece to another, flute was definitely one of the ways where I relieved my stress. 

After I came to Seoul, South Korea, I continued playing by joining the band in our school called Crusader Band. Initially, I felt that this band is very different from other bands that I was part of back in America. Since two grade levels (9th and 10th grade) were combining to make music, I faced various difficulties in doing some measures or parts of the music as a freshman. However, this once again did not make me give up. With the help of my tutor and school band teacher, I was able to move up to first chair and was able to play hard and challenging music without too much difficulty. 

Currently, I am in the Wind Ensemble, the highest band in my school out of six levels. Even though I am in grade 10 and the youngest out of all players, I am still confident with every music I play and make no mistakes. Being in the Wind Ensemble definitely allowed me to have various experiences such as solo competition with different schools, perform music in the Christmas Festival and Talent show, etc. While my friends mostly quit playing instruments in middle school ended up having no musical talent, I was able to not only learn an instrument and be confident with it but to acknowledge how to resist myself from giving up and having variable experiences to be on stage and perform.  

Nowadays, many people only start to learn an instrument just because the school or parents ｒｅｑｕｉｒｅ it. Then, they quit playing in middle or high school and forget how to play the instrument. However, I never gave up and ended up having a new hobby that I am confident at. Although learning and practicing a piece might be a toilsome work, after mastering a piece or two and performing in front of numerous people, I was able to gain sensational memories and skills. When people ask me what I am good at, I without a doubt say “I am confident in playing the flute”, which is a huge advantage in life, at least from what I believe.

Amy Park
Grade 10
Seoul Foreign School