HOW SCHOOL CAN HELP ME FOR THE FUTURE? BY EIDER ARMENDARIZ
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- Created on Wednesday, 14 September 2016 11:32
- Written by basquecountry
When we are young, all of us dream of being singers, actors and actresses, football players… We believe that anything is possible if we try, if we close our eyes, pull our fingers into a fist and think non-stop in what we want. As the time goes by, anyway, we start thinking differently. Professions such as doctors, business owners, judges or engineers come to our minds. We start thinking in more realistic careers, which require higher education.
As most of my friends, I wanted to be famous. I wanted to be an actress, of those who are known all around the world and live in huge palaces. When I grew up, I wanted to be a teacher. I like to help my classmates; therefore I thought there was nothing better than teaching children, so they could understand everything. But I didn’t let the actress thing apart. My plan was to combine both professions: during the week, I was going to be a primary teacher, but, at weekends, I was going to be the best actress ever known (Hannah Montana had a big influence on my, as you can see). Later on, I realized that being an actress was something as impossible as scaling the Everest for me, so I spent around seven years with the idea of being a teacher. But, nowadays, I’ve got a different opinion.
I’ve been in contact with music since I was in my mum’s belly. As she plays the piano, I’ve always listened to classical music when I was just a baby. She and my dad didn’t want to make music an obligatory activity for me, so they waited until I said I would like to play an instrument. They had a lot of patience, because I was already 7 when I made the decision. My mum thought that I’d like to play the piano, but, surprisingly, I chose the violin. I don’t even know why I did it, I guess that perhaps it was because I was bored of the piano.
At first, the violin was a hobby that I liked, but it was just that: a hobby. Over time, I started spending more and more hours in front of the music stand, rehearsing harder and becoming more interested in the instrument and in music in general.
When it came the time to choose what type of Bachiller I was going to do, my mind was a mess. I had plenty of ideas, but each was more hare-brained than the previous one. It took me a while to decide, maybe because I was scared. We are talking about my future, about a future of a child who was only 15, who didn’t (and doesn’t yet) know who she is. How could I choose such an important thing?
I had an advantage that can also look like a disadvantage, depending on the point of view. I could choose between lots of careers, because my marks were really really good. And that made the mess even bigger.
I never thought of music like something more than a hobby. Dedicating to music professionally was a dream that couldn’t come true, like when the 6-year-olds say that they want to be football players. But, one day, I opened my mind and made my crazy dreams become words. I told my mum what I really wanted, it didn’t matter how good my marks were or how many other options I had. I thought that she would understand me, as she is a musician and to deal with the same when she was younger.
Fortunately, I was right. My mum told me that she was going to support me, didn’t matter which was my decision. And that’s what she’s been doing since I told her those Christmas. She always tells me that the world of music is really, I mean, REALLY difficult. You have to rehearse during hours every day, become the best, and make a tiny feature in the huge world that music is. She told me that I have to keep my feet on the ground, that I’m not going to be a soloist or a world famous artist. I told her that becoming worldwide known artist is not what I wanted, that I just wanted to enjoy music and be able to earn a living with it.
So, when I grow up, I would like to be an orchestra member. I still see it like something impossible, because I’m not as good as I should be at my age, but I want to do it. I want it more than anything. And I will persevere until I get it.
Last year, I had to change to another school, because the previous one doesn’t have Bachiller. I chose Botikazar mainly for two reasons: its timetable and its location. Thanks to the first one, I am able to dedicate more time to music, because I finish school at three every day and I have the whole afternoon to rehearse. Its location is also helpful, because the school is situated between my house and the place where I study music, so I have it easy to arrive to both, school and conservatory.
Even though my school has the good factors which I have just mentioned, there are also things that I think could be a good point for me. One of them is to have a special room for musicians who have free time and want to play between or after classes, like a studio where they don’t disturb anyone and they don’t get disturbed. Another option is, for example, to allow us to organize some concerts during the year. This way, we would make familiar with playing in front of people and we would lose our scenic fear.
It would also be a good idea to organize some kind of lessons where we could teach those peers who are interested in music a bit more than what is actually taught at schools. If we could do that, we would approach people who don’t have the opportunity that we have, and they would learn a bit more while we would still be in contact with music, which is good for both parts.
Another change could be letting us take part in events that the school organizes that need to be liven up with music. Let me explain. If there’s a meeting, a lunch, a lecture… we could play our own instruments, or maybe sing. As a result, the school wouldn’t have to pay to professionals, we would have the chance to play and people would be entertained.
In brief, I think that my school does as much as it cans to help me (maybe unconsciously, but it does). It would be impossible for me to continue with music if I were in another high school. However, there are a bunch of changes that could make it easier for people who want to study music.
Eider Armendariz