Music is important

So I'm sitting at home, feeling exhausted, cause it's been a long week. And it's only Wednesday. Anyway, last night we had our premiere concert for show choir and jazz choir, and it was awesome. Four groups performed: our jazz choir, freshman show choir, prep show choir, and varsity show choir. I sang in the jazz choir and prep show choir, and then played in the combo for the varsity show choir. It was a lot of fun and all the groups did really well. Based on that performance, I can tell that it's going to be a winning season (again). It makes me very thankful to go to a school that puts so much time and effort into their show choir program. :)

That being said: what about funding for the arts? I realize that show choir isn't cheap; you have to pay for costumes, props, songs, competition fees, food, buses, and the list goes on. It amazes me how much our show choirs spend each year on their shows...and what it amounts to in the long run. It certainly allows us to be top notch, one of the best in the country. It allows us to travel to Nashville for Show Choir Nationals, and it allows us to wear fresh, new costumes each year. It makes me wonder about schools that don't spend that kind of money on their show choir. I'm not trying to brag about my school, certainly we aren't rich, but I wonder if other schools fund-raise as much as we do. I'm telling you, there's really nothing more annoying than having to carry around a box of chocolates every day, when you only sell one every so often because so many show choir kids are selling chocolate at the same time. I'd much rather have my parents just do the work for me, but they never want to either. That being said, fundraising is a pain in the you-know-what...but what if you absolutely HAVE to fund-raise to gain enough money to do show choir? It's crazy when you think about how much chocolate you'd actually have to sell in order to pay for a show choir show.

Anyway, now I'm rambling on about selling chocolate. But yeah, funding for the arts. It should definitely be supported by tax payers and schools shouldn't be cutting their art and music programs. It's unfair when people argue that the arts are a waste of time and money, because that's not true. The arts provide students with an education that not everyone has the talent to earn, and they allow students to be creative and express themselves. Music has shaped my life and made me into the person I am today, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. I know my school wouldn't cut it's music programs because they are so successful, but I realize that not every school is that fortunate. For some students, it's an actual reality. The funding for their art and music programs is being cut day after day. It's unfair--who says that football or baseball or soccer is more important than music? Each and every student has a different way of expressing themselves. Personally, music is the way to go.

So, government and schools, please stop cutting funding for art programs. It makes sense to have them because they are activities that allow students to express themselves. It's what allows us to be who we are and to be great.