Music's Shaped My Heart by Serenity

Music's Shaped My Heart by Serenity - October 2026 Scholarship Essay

Last summer, I went overseas. I had never been out of the country before, but that doesn't mean I was scared. It was all because of my symphonic band director. He referred me to a program called Musicians Abroad—they recruit high school band and choir members, give them music, and let them travel to five different countries to perform for two weeks. I was stoked when I first heard about it. At the time, it was the summer leading up to my senior year. I had been in my school's band for all my years of high school, and I'm now finishing up my last year as a senior. Those years, I was center snare in drumline in the marching band, a percussion player in the advanced wind ensemble, and I played drum set or guitar in the smaller opportunities my school offered like jazz and pep band. My band director thought I had the skills to play in the huge band that was Musicians Abroad. He signed me up and all I had to do was show up at the practice sessions.

There are a lot of instruments in the percussion section. Drumming instruments like snare or bass drum, auxiliary instruments like maracas, and mallet instruments like marimba or xylophone. I had never been taught to play a mallet instrument before, even though I got the best placements at my school for every other type of percussion instrument. At my school, they typically teach a student the basics when they're in sixth grade, letting them figure it out from there in the next seven years they're in school. I hadn't been at that school district in sixth grade, so I was never shown how to play an instrument like a marimba. So, in the Musicians Abroad program, when I got the list of what instruments I was going to play for each song, my heart dropped. There were about ten songs, and I, the person who had never touched a mallet instrument, had to play mallets for half of them. I talked to the percussion instructor about it. He told me, "Do whatever you have to do to be successful." I thought about it and realized I could learn anything.

The program had a few practice sessions, but before and after them, I would go home and practice the mallet parts until I wanted to rip my hair out. I had a flimsy piece of cardboard that I pretended to be the xylophone, drawing out where each key would be with a marker. And at that first performance in London, I nailed it. By our fifth concert, the last of our shows, I had flown through those songs like it was nothing. My best was "The Stars and Stripes Forever." And more importantly, I had fun doing it. I learned an instrument by myself in my section that my school never taught me. I'm not afraid to go up to the marimba and xylophone now in class.

Though I went for my ability to play percussion instruments, I made friends with people in the choir and orchestra, too. Frankly, it has always been hard for me to make friends. I only transferred back to public school in my first year of high school. Before that, I went to a private school where my anxiety controlled me. It's a flaw I've worked on, but anxiety still bubbles up when I'm around new people. When I was overseas, I was reminded of how bad it was. I forced myself and pushed that anxiety down. I realized that the other kids were just like me—this was also their first time overseas, and they were happy to just make friends, too. I got really close with a cellist halfway through the trip. It seems like a little accomplishment, but to me, it was a huge step in my confidence and socializing abilities.

Overall, the Musicians Abroad trip my band director referred me to really helped me grow. It not only let me see the world, but it was the steppingstone that made me pick up mallet instruments for the first time when I was previously too scared. I made connections I would have never made before on that trip, ones I'll never trade. What my percussion instructor told me about doing whatever I need to be successful has really shaped the way I look at music and life in general. Everything I've been through has helped me learn to embrace myself as who I am. I love playing in bands and I never want to stop.