My Favorite Activity

First of all, yes, I did add a picture of myself. I went through a lot of pain in saving, editing, and uploading (I'm a little computer challenged) to get it on here, so I hope you enjoy it.

Okay, my favorite activity. Without question it is Youth Symphony. You may know that I play the violin, and I have been taking lessons for 12 years. As for YS, this is my tenth year in the program. Every Saturday morning during the months of August-March, I've been going to rehearsals, and in those 75 months of around 260 practices to date, I've missed only one full rehearsal (to play for a wedding, in case you're interested). People are impressed when they hear this statistic, but I can't imagine missing a rehearsal. YS is just such an inseperable part of my life, but come March 4, 2006, I will play my last concert with the YS, and that will be a bittersweet day.

The most striking aspect of YS for me is how 'right' it feels to be there. During the Christmas and summer breaks, I can't help but feel that something's missing, and when those empty Saturday morning come around, I feel lost. Come the end of August, though, and I'm back among the semi-circle of YS students, I breathe a sigh of relief. Everything clicks, and when we start to pull the peices together, I realize that the 6:30 am alarm clocks and the cold, stiff hands (in winter) are worth it.

For a lot of my favorite things about YS you would just have to be there to understand, but here's one that's easily explainable. First, a little background information.

In YS, as in all symphonies, there are the different sections of instruments: 1st Violins, 2nd Violins, Violas, Cellos, Basses, Woodwinds, Brass, and Percussion. There are some common names used by some for certain sections, and they include: "The Divas" (1st violins), "The Diva Wannabees" or "Divas-in-Training (for youth symphonies)" (2nd violins), "Those That Are Often Confused for Violins and So Stick Together" (Violas), "The Constant Practicers" (woodwinds), and "The Hotshots" (brass).

In the top orchestra of my youth symphony program (a.k.a. "The Elite") the viola section started a trend a few semesters back that one member the section brings a snack to share with the rest of the section. Obviously the Divas could not be outdone, so we (yes, I'm a Diva) copied the violas, and started bringing snacks for our section. Not that we don't socialize, but this never fails to bring everyone together, especially the strings, because technically you can't keep the snacks to your section only. In short, we're all in debt to the violas for starting it, because we all get something out of it.

I could list many more things that I love about YS, but if you wait until late this year or early next year, I'll have a complete essay about my entire time in YS for you all to read.

And I know you're all dying to hear how Don Quixote is coming, but I'm saving that for the next post.

God Bless