Growing up, I was introduced to different genres of music. I listened to Broadway, Christian pop, children’s music like Disney, Classical music and Jazz. When I listened to Jazz, I felt like I could imagine myself living in the 1940s or 1950s, listening to Jazz on the radio.
When I was in third grade, I had to make a choice of whether I was going to join the orchestra or the band. I was not a big fan of the string instruments that the orchestra was offering, so I decided to join the band. I then had to choose what instrument I wanted to play. I decided to be different from the other girls that joined the band. While they all decided to play either the clarinet or the flute, I decided to play the trumpet. When I got home, I told my parents what instrument I was going to play. It was then that I was introduced to a fantastic trumpet player from New Orleans. The one, the only, Louis Armstrong.
When I first listened to Louis Armstrong, I was amazed with his talent for music and for his ability to teach himself how to play the cornet (think of it as a smaller version of a French horn). The first song I heard from him was “What a Wonderful World.” And after that, I never stopped listening to him. His songs became my life, and he became my biggest inspiration when I was in my elementary band. He honestly still is my inspiration to this day.
After my first year in the school band, I had realized that playing an instrument, like the trumpet, was not for me. The only issue was that I could not get out of the band until I had finished my fifth-grade year. So, in a way, I stopped practicing. I stopped trying to impress my band director. I was still able to play well, but not as well as those around me. But even though I was ready to give up playing the trumpet, I would listen to Louis Armstrong’s music, and he would make me feel better about my playing ability. After fifth grade, I never picked up the trumpet again, but I would still listen to his music to help me relax and, sometimes, fall asleep.
To this day, Louis Armstrong is still one of my biggest inspirations. If I had to make a list of those who inspire me, he would be third on my list behind my mom and my grandfather. Whenever I hear one of his songs playing in a movie, a show, or on my playlist, it makes me relax and gives me the ability to recenter myself.