Kindergarten: I don't have much to say about this year, except that when we moved, I switched from half-day to full-day. And in full-day Kindergarten, the kids took a nap every day on mats on the floor. I never could fall asleep, since I wasn't used to having a nap anymore. I think my mom also started teaching me piano when I was 5.
1st Grade: I started leaving the classroom to do accelerated work (like math games in the computer lab--yeah, awesome...).
2nd Grade: I switched schools halfway through the year, and they taught French at the second school. I only remember "Bon jour, mes amis" and "Au revoir, mes amis." (Although I wouldn't have been able to spell them until after several diction classes at BYU.)
3rd Grade: I was tested for the gifted program.
4th Grade: I attended the gifted classes.
5th Grade: I attended the gifted math class and went to the highest reading class.
6th Grade: I attended the accelerated English and Math classes. I also started band, learning to play the flute.
7th Grade: I attended the accelerated English and Math classes, but with two different teachers this time. I continued to take band. I also auditioned and was accepted into All-East Band.
8th Grade: I quit the gifted program because the teacher was horrible (ask any of my friends!). Several other kids quit that year, and eventually the teacher was fired. I started taking Latin. I continued to take band. Again, I auditioned and was accepted into All-East band.
9th Grade: I attended the U.S. Government class that was meant for gifted kids, but they let me in anyway (even though I wasn't "gifted" anymore). I attended another year of Latin. I quit band. But I attended the Music Appreciation class, because I was interested in music. It turns out that it was a class where all the lazy kids were dumped. There was no functional choir at the school, nor had there been for 20 years. I also attended early-morning Seminary (I believe we studied the New Testament).
10th Grade: A new teacher was hired to teach choir. My dad suggested that I offer to accompany the choir in exchange for voice lessons. So I did! I got a great deal out of it because I was improving two of my talents for free. I also attended early-morning Seminary (I believe we studied the Old Testament).
11th Grade: I continued with accompanying and voice lessons. I auditioned for, and was accepted into, Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts. It was a month-long summer program in which I was exposed to intense vocal training, choir, and opera scenes. I also started working in my dad's business. And I started taking piano lessons from a nearby university. (This teacher was also lousy, so I gave it up after a while.) I also attended early-morning Seminary (I believe we studied Church History and the Doctrine and Covenants [another LDS scripture]).
12th Grade: A new teacher was hired to teach choir (the other one had a baby and left). She didn't allow me to accompany, so I joined the choir. I still continued to take voice lessons with the other teacher, though. I finally got up the courage this year to audition for All-East choir and All-State choir. I easily got into both, with the highest score of anyone who auditioned. I also continued working for my dad. I again attended early-morning Seminary (I believe we studied the Book of Mormon). I also completed my Personal Progress this year (a four-year program for the young women at church in which we set goals and completed spiritual tasks and lots of service.)
BYU: I continued to take voice lessons, joined the choir, did opera scenes, and a whole host of other music classes (Diction, Theory, Sight-Singing, Dictation, Music History, Opera Scenes, Masterclasses, Pedagogy, Functional Piano Skills, etc.). I also took several religion classes: Old Testament, New Testament, Church History, Doctrine and Covenants, Pearl of Great Price (another LDS scripture), Book of Mormon, Marriage and Family, and The Family: A Proclamation to the World.
All-in-all, I have had about 9 years of choir (if you include post-college choirs), 9 years of voice lessons, 3-4 years of piano lessons (I took lessons pretty sporadically, but I was always practicing), and 3 years of band. I have been teaching piano and voice lessons on and off for about ten years. I also had about 8 years of intense gospel study.
I have a great brain for math, which aids in my musical abilities. Unfortunately, I don't have a brain for creativity. So my talents are all very formulaic and less expressive, although I'm working on that...
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