Mistakes, lots of them. In four years I went from a nerdy shy introvert to someone who actively longs to be in front of a crowd performing. I entered high school forced into a bubble. Not intentionally, I just hadn’t realized yet. I thought I had to be something I wasn’t. Once I stopped worrying about what I thought I was “supposed” to do and just started doing things I enjoyed, I became the happiest I’ve ever been. I hid parts of myself because either I didn’t like it or I was embarrassed about it. But mistakes can be good, as long as you learn from it. The most important thing I learned is to be authentic. It’s just living trial and error. Don’t let fear hold you back from discovering new things. I was terrified to perform with our jazz band as a freshman but now I wish I could have just one last concert with them. The second most important thing I learned is that you really can be anything you want to be. This lesson comes from all the amazing teachers that helped me, mentors who encouraged me to grow. The asterisk to this lesson is that it doesn’t happen overnight. It happens from years of hard work, dedication to improvement and not letting anything get in the way no matter how frustrating. Keep your goals in mind and push yourself and you just might be surprised when you realize it’s been four years and now you can play four instruments. Take things one day at a time, relax and have some fun every once in a while, it’ll be over before you know it.