Even more people...again, how would I talk to new people? How would I make new friends? In high school, you get a little more freedom over which classes you get to be in. In 11th grade, I decided that I would take History and English classes that would challenge me. The best part about those classes was that it put me in the same room as other students who I respected, and I felt like they respected me. The classes also gave me some anxiety, since it felt like a lot of work. But it challenged me in mostly a good way. In high school, I learned that my best friends were those who listened to me, and I listened to them.
After high school, I decided to go to Washington State University, three hours east of Ellensburg, to study piano. My mom taught me the piano since I was four. I remember her sitting next to me, showing me where to put my hands on the piano, the names of each note and how to read music. After playing piano for five or six years, I started to get tired of the piano. But I found that the more I practiced the piano, the more I could play more exciting, thrilling music. So I kept going. I took piano lessons in college, as well as classes on music theory (how to write down and read music), music history (what music happened before now?) and other fun classes like learning how to conduct choirs and orchestras.
The most valuable thing college showed me was that Ellensburg shaped me-the teachers I had in school, my friends, my homework, how I spent time outside of school, what TV shows I watched, how much time I spent on my phone. I began asking the question: How does living in Ellensburg affect my life? Living in a valley is beautiful, but it can be easy to forget that there is a world beyond our valley.
