Everyone is great at something others aren't. My sisters are good at volleyball and school. I hate sports and school has always been a struggle. It's like school comes naturally to them. I'm so jealous of them because of it. :)
We all have struggles. Some people aren't musically talented, some people can't memorize facts as quick as others, some people forget, the list goes on and on. We all have struggles and that's okay. What's not okay is if we make fun of others because of their specific struggles they are facing.
When I was in high school, my classmates were worried about getting into college and I was worried about graduating high school! I did, with high honors thank you very much, but let me be the first to say: it was not an easy task. I had so much help from my mom, friends, classmates, and teachers. I would not have survived without them. They were the ones who kept me going. They were the ones telling me "You can do it!" every step of the way.
I also participated in the Shelley High School Show Choir. It was a singing and dancing group. I had a blast learning new music and choreography for an hour and a half every other day. I had to try out to join the club. My mom helped me prepare for the auditions. I sang "What's Forever For" by Michael Martin Murphy. We practiced and practiced until the day of try outs finally came. I was so nervous, but the teacher, Mrs. Hunsaker, was really nice and seemed positive about my audition. That next week, Mrs. Hunsaker posted all the kids who made it on the music room door. I was so excited to see my name on the list! That was one of the greatest moments of my life! I remember when my good friend, Josh Weight, was on the Show Choir team and he was so fun to watch during a concert. I watched him perform so many times, thinking, "I want to be in that when I get in to high school."
In Show Choir, my sophomore year, it was filled with many rehearsals, laughs, and friends I still have to this day. I was worried about remembering all the dance steps in every number we performed, but it was nice because Mrs. Hunsaker had about five mirrors mounted on the walls in the choir room. My classmates and I would face those mirrors every time we would rehearse a dance number. It was so nice to have them because I would know where my place was in a dance number and who I was by.
After my sophomore year ended, Mrs. Hunsaker moved to Utah and we received a new Show Choir teacher, Mrs. Arnold. When I first met her, I kind of thought she was a snob, until I really got to know her and observe how she taught. The one thing I really didn't like about her was that she doesn't like to dance. She only did it because the class liked to do choreography. She took down the mirrors in the choir room because they bothered her. That made me upset because the mirrors were the only way I knew who I was by in a dance number. After that, Show Choir wasn't that much fun. It became stressful.
Luckily, Mrs. Arnold understood and made sure my classmates helped me find my spot in every musical number we ever performed from that year on. During our Christmas concert, we did a "Polar Express" medley which was a lot of fun except some of the guys were supposed to lift me onto their shoulders and I forgot. It was the most mortifying evening of my life. We finished the number and everything went smoothly, but I felt horrible inside. That next day, I walked into class with my head down and tears streaming from my face. Mrs. Arnold, the sweetheart she is, giggled at me and told the class that I needed a really big hug. So they all toppled over me and everything was okay.
After my final concert being in Show Choir, Mrs. Arnold comes out with a microphone and a bouquet of stunning red roses and announced that I was the "Outstanding Musician of the Year." That's a big award given to one senior during their year of high school. You get to have your picture up in the "Outstanding Musician of the Year" plaque and it is hung up on the wall in the choir room. I have fantasied of receiving the award so many times in my head, but I never thought in my wildest dreams I would ever actually get it! That was one of my #1 moments in high school. That was when I felt like my struggles, my memory loss, and all of my hard work paid off!
Even though we have to face challenges in our lives, we must persevere through them so we can receive what greater things Heavenly Father has in store for us. I'm so thankful for the opportunities given to me to participate in music and for the gift He has given me of being musical. It has helped me get through some of my hardest times in my life, and still does today. Just because you are struggling now, it doesn't mean it's going to be like this forever. Because you are struggling now, Heavenly Father has so many better things in store for you as long as you endure to the end!
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