Music Lights the Fire

Ever since I was a little girl I’ve always loved music. I loved listening to it, I loved dancing to it and more than anything I loved singing along to it. I’ve had this weird connection with music for as long as I can remember but for most of my school life I never wanted to do anything related to music. I dreaded going to music classes, finding them boring and a waste of my time, I would have much rather been sat in a quiet spot either reading a good book or writing anything that came to mind. I kept this mentality for a long time always listening and singing to music whenever I did practically anything but wanting absolutely nothing to do with my music classes. The day my whole world changed though was Sophomore year, when I decided to join Chorus to get my art credit. I already loved singing so I figured I could put up with the class for a year and never go back but my whole world changed once I actually sat down for my first ever class.

Mr. Paquette’s first year of teaching music at Oak Hill was my first year of chorus, we were both pretty new and I didn’t know whether I would enjoy it or not. My very first day I was awkward and uncomfortable, I didn’t know what to expect and I believed that he was going to make us sing out in front of everyone and I was absolutely dreading it, but that never happened. The class was full of laughs and good times and by the time the end of the year rolled around and it was time to pick classes for Junior year I just knew I had to take Chorus for another year.

Junior year was when I truly started to come out of my singing shell. Most of the students were in the class from my Sophomore year, I was comfortable around them and I had no issue singing aloud and now that I was familiar with Paquette talking to him and singing in front of him for vocal checks was easy and something I enjoyed doing to see how my vocals had grown since my first year. Needless to say I was falling in love with Chorus and singing, even if I was embarrassed from time to time it was all worth it. The end of Junior year was when I felt a fire beginning to burn inside of my stomach. It wasn’t strong, it was rather faint but I knew what I wanted to do, I signed up for both Chorus and Rock Ensemble.

My summertime (when I wasn’t working on my Capstone) was primarily used up by fretting and a constant feeling of uneasiness. Rock Ensemble was unlike Chorus in so many ways, rock music didn’t have an agenda, I couldn’t blend with other peoples voices, I was going to primarily be on my own. I loved KPop more than rock, my hair is forever stuck in the old EMO hair-do. What had I gotten myself into?

All of those awful thoughts went away the second I stepped into the classroom and realized just what exactly was going on. The class wasn’t full of hard punk rockers who would pick on me because of my love of KPop or the way I styled my hair, they weren’t what I believed they were going to be, they were just a group of kids who were all different and unique but shared a common interest, their love of playing rock music. I still didn’t quite feel as if I fit in with the crowd, I didn’t know how to play any instruments all I could use my voice. I confided in Paquette, telling him how I was feeling and he sat down with me, helping me realize that singing was something I really loved doing and is something that I wanted to put my time and energy into. He helped me with singing techniques and learning different vocal scales and it felt as if the small ember inside my stomach had truly been ignited. I wanted to know everything about the ins and outs of vocals in rock music, I wanted to learn all kinds of different vocal techniques that would help me improve my voice and make our performances ten times more enjoyable for the audience. This inspiration he had given me transferred over to Chorus where I did something I never thought I would do. I tried out for a solo, and to my shock I got it. I was stepping out of my shell, I was trying new things and I wanted to continue trying new things, he truly inspired me and helped me along the right path to show me what I truly loved and wanted in life.

The poet Yeats stated that “Education is not the filling of a pail, but rather the lighting of a fire” and it hits me hard knowing that this has indeed happened to myself. By causing me to try new things and stepping out of my shell Paquette lit this fire, I suddenly wanted to learn all kinds of new information that would only push my singing potential further and further. I never wanted to do anything with music before but now I’m stuck with this thought of “I want to do music when I leave high school, but I don’t know how to go about doing that.” I’d love to join a band in my future as a part time thing, to have fun and jam out with others who love music, others who can push me to my full potential. Paquette himself has truly inspired me and made me want to follow this career path that I never would have even considered before.

He’s truly left a big impact my life. I know once I leave Oak Hill I’ll be upset knowing that I most likely won’t see the person who inspired me to take chances for a very long time. I now know what I want to do in my future it’s just a matter of getting to that point. This man has inspired me for three years and will most likely continue to inspire and push me towards my true potential in the far future just by memory alone. I truly have Paquette to thank for helping me realize my wants and how to battle my fears and for lighting this fire inside of me.

Photo on Foter.com