Brass vs. Basketball

There was a lot going through my head about the choice between playing basketball or playing trumpet, and when it came down to it, trumpet had my heart and I could not give that up.

Now, that decision was definitely one I would never regret; that decision led me to my current major, which is music education. I was the tall kid growing up, and naturally I was roped into every sport a coach could find me for. Basketball was what I was most targeted for and I felt limited in my ability for sports which didn’t seem fair to continue playing a sport that didn’t bring me half as much joy as playing trumpet did. To bring me down even further, I was made fun of and ridiculed for my lack of ability. I was easily discouraged from many things as a kid and basketball outside of that realm sadly. On the other hand, I enjoyed playing trumpet just about every day that I was able to. Every person has an off day for whatever their profession is or they can just not feel it that particular day. I had a strong passion for playing any musical instrument, though.

I was fascinated by almost everything in regards to music and it helped that the people who surrounded me were all my best and closest friends. I had known some for years and others I had met the week before school started at marching band camp. Unlike basketball, I could lead in band as a section leader and a first chair player. There are always moments I am humbled by other players to bring my hopes down for a short length of time, but I immediately begin to think of the people I look up to (not including the people who perform professionally as a living). I would typically feel awful about how I played in a basketball game, I just never felt accepted as a part of that community of people: the teammates, the fans, other coaches. With any band event or competition I attended, I always felt like I was being supported by those around me who I didn’t know. I could believe I just had the worst musical performance of my life, and instead of being hounded by everyone saying how badly I played, I would be reassured that I played great by my friends and audience members alike.

There isn’t usually a day that goes by where I don’t get asked about my height (I’m 6’5”), shortly followed by “you play basketball don’t you?” It’s always humorous to hear and I love responding with a solid “no” and continuing about my day. Trumpet is something most people don’t first picture when they see me, but I’m hoping one day that it will be. I'm definitely getting my hopes up too high for that reality but I’m sure that the best is yet to come for my future in music.