Music Unites is a non-profit charity founded with the objective of installing free music programs in at-risk public schools. The work they do changes lives in so many ways. Public school music programs give children a creative outlet where they can be themselves, myself included. I want to share my story as an example of how music programs change students lives. I joined the band in the sixth grade with the full intentions of dropping after one year. I already played guitar and piano, and I figured I would rather play sports once I advanced to high school. However, the summer after my sixth grade year, things changed. My parents decided to divorce, which left me in a two household life. Many students in today’s society live the same life. Band became the place where I felt like I was with my true family. Band didn’t make me feel like I had to chose a side, or please everybody. I felt I could be myself. Band helped me through one of the toughest times in my life. As I grew older and advanced to high school, I decided to stick with music instead of continuing in athletics. I eventually joined the choir as well as participating in the Jazz band, concert band, and marching band. These creative outlets gave me a space in which I could express myself freely. I always felt, and still do feel, that I am truly myself when I’m making music. It is a feeling that could never be imitated or replaced. I share this story because I believe it highlights how important having music programs is to public schools. The work that Music Unites does by installing music programs in at-risk schools is far more important than just teaching kids how to play music. It gives students who don’t have a stable family structure a place where they can feel safe. Not only that, it provides students with tools they can use to help fund their college education, should they chose to do so. I hope that my “testimony” sheds a more personal light on how music programs in public schools effect students lives for the better.

This blog post was created as partial fulfillment for my final project in DMS 101.