What do you think of when you hear the word “success”? Personally, I picture someone with shiny gold trophies, medals, and blue ribbons out the wazoo. But is this really what success is? Sure, the trophies and awards are nice, but is that really how one defines success? Success can’t be defined as what we get for doing something noteworthy or being the best at something. Success is the result of blood, sweat and tears and accomplishing something within yourself, and the trophies and medals are just cherries on top of the nice little success sundae you’ve made for yourself.
As a musician, I have accomplished some pretty cool things. I was in the Texas All State Women’s Choir and National American Choral Director’s Association Mixed Honor Choir in 2013, and this year I was in the Texas All State Mixed Choir. I am not saying this to brag; I am saying this to simply prove a point. While these accomplishments are lovely, I don’t let these titles like “All Stater” or “National Honor Choir Member” define my success. What defines my personal success is all the lessons I learned while on my journey to where I am now.
The process one goes through to make the Texas All State Choir can be described in 4 words: four rounds of hell. More specifically, the process consists of learning and polishing around 10 songs, and performing cuts of 3 of those songs, and sight reading at the final 2 rounds. While doing this, you are competing against people on your voice part for the top chairs. The process begins in September and ends in early January. It is quite the journey to say the least. But among the tears, frustration, and disappointment, there are so many life lessons to be learned and so much about yourself to be discovered.
So my journey to All State is a little bit unique. My freshman year, I didn’t know what the heck I was doing, so I didn’t even think to audition. My sophomore year, however, I started to think that maybe I did really dig this choir thing. While some people had been learning this music since the summer, I thought it would be a good idea to pick the music up 3 weeks before the competition and start trying to learn the music. So smart, right? No. I did not even advance to the second round. As one of the few sophomores in the top choir, I thought I was better than this. I was embarrassed and considered quitting choir, but God had other things in store for me.
Fast forward…. 1 year later. I have started taking with Raymond Schultz, my amazing voice teacher. I have also changed my voice part to Alto. I have been working on the music all summer, and while I was nervous, I knew I was prepared. And after 4 rounds of stress and frustration, I made the Texas All State Women’s Choir. I can honestly say I’ve never worked harder for anything in my life. At times, the pressure became too much, and I broke down. But after these breakdowns, I became stronger and more motivated to accomplish what I set out to do. Performing with the All State Women’s Choir was such an amazing moment, and it motivated me more than ever to do it all over again.
One year after that…. I began competing again. The outlook was bright. I had done it before, and I was confident in my ability to do it again. Despite a few moments of complete and utter shutdown, I kept my composure. I was also helping others with their music by listening to them and running some sectionals. And just like the year before, after the four rounds of anxiety, I made it again. 2nd chair at Round 4. All State Mixed Choir. Crazy. After figuring out last year HOW to do it, I went in this year and tried to do it BETTER. One year, not advancing to the second round, and 2 years later, I’m a 2-year All Stater. I still don’t believe it as I type it now.
I say all this to come to one conclusion: Hard work = success. I know you’ve heard it a billion times, seen stupid posters in every classroom, and I’m sorry you just had to read it again. But IT’S TRUE.
It’s not always easy. It’s not always fun. But it is completely worth it. The success I have enjoyed these past 2 years did not happen overnight. I had to learn quite a bit about the process and about myself before I could truly understand what I needed to do to be successful. Mr. Wright said once, “The proof of success comes from the knowledge of process.” This has really stuck with me this year because last year, I was beginning to understand the process, but still had much to learn. When everything clicked, the success I experienced truly sky-rocketed. I experienced many disappointments along the way, but overcoming them and coming out stronger and better is where the true growth happened.
So if you want to be successful, don’t focus on the trophies or certificates you may receive as a result. The best representation of success is shown in the kind of person you are, not the things you have or the things you’ve done.
And with that…. My rant is done.
halliray 