GOSHEN, INDIANA
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain. — Dolly Parton”
MUSICAL | PERSISTENT | DETERMINED
My Story:
My mom told me that when I was young, after watching Little Einsteins on TV, I would run upstairs to the piano and stay there until I taught myself how to play the featured song of the episode. Music has always been a driving force in my life. I love music because it moves me emotionally. I get so involved in the music that sometimes the climax of a song moves me to tears. I play the Flute and I’ve been involved in band at my school for seven years and was Drum Major of the marching band my senior year.
In the middle of my sophomore year, I started to notice that it was becoming difficult to play my Flute. My doctor noticed a lump on my neck that I hadn’t noticed before. I was immediately sent for tests, to specialists, and eventually down to Riley’s Children’s Hospital to their thyroid specialist. I had a tumor growing on my right thyroid and that it had been growing for a while. I was devastated. This explained why I had trouble taking deep breaths and the quality of my sound, on the flute, got worse and worse. After a biopsy we found that the tumor was non cancerous but still needed to be removed. I was told that the surgery could possibly damage my vocal chords and potentially make it impossible for me to play my instrument again. At this point in my life I knew that I wanted to pursue a career in music and I wouldn’t be able to do that if I couldn’t play my instrument. I had the surgery at the end of June in 2018 and thankfully it went perfectly. There were no side effects or injuries and I was able to play again within a week of the surgery. I now have a scar across the base of my neck, and after a while of trying to lessen the prominence of my scar, I decided to let it be seen as a reminder to myself that nothing in life is guaranteed, so savor every moment and live life to the fullest. I decided that I want to pursue Music Education because I want to inspire kids, through teaching, to love music just as much as I do.
Favorite part of working with PAT+CASSIE:
I’ve known them for half of my life, they make me laugh, and I wouldn’t want it any other way
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What advice you would give underclassmen?:
Don’t take anything for granted, you never know when life will throw you a curveball. Adjust your perspective and focus on the positives rather than the negatives in tough situations.
Instagram: angela._reinert
