When I was 13...

When I was 13, I specifically remember fighting for happiness. I had just moved from the tiny town I grew up in to a much larger and scarier town where I knew no one. It was the eighth grade, and it was scary. I was determined to be happy and to make things work. If I had known then just how lifechanging 13 was, I probably would have vowed to remember more about it. I'm a September baby, so birthdays and the new school year always coincided.

To me, 13 was the start of everything. I vividly remember meeting my very own Mr. Feeny, my mentor and buddy for life. Ms. Nadine Pomeroy changed my entire life. She was my very first band teacher, and it turned out she would follow me through the grades and be my very last. I found my passion, music, and spent my teenage years striving to be better and to succeed. The day I met Ms. Pomeroy, affectionately known as Pom, I knew what I wanted in life. I was going to be a music teacher no matter what it took, and although I am no longer a Music Education Major, my career advice is still taken from Pom. To me, 13 was the beginning of an incredible adventure.