Kyla Efianayi

For nine years of my life, I was dedicated to making music in some way, shape, or form. I spent the first two years dabbling in chorus, but for a consistent seven years, I played the clarinet for my school’s band.

At first, I picked it up partially because my friends were going to try it out, but mainly because I wanted to see what music was like in a class that differed from chorus. I made it through the boredom that came with learning the fundamentals and was rewarded with the excitement of my very first concerts. From the honor band to my first all-state band audition, to actually obtaining the solos I auditioned for, the joy I felt from being in the band was unmatched.

Entering high school showed me a perspective of band that I hadn’t had the chance to witness in middle school. The difficulty level of the music ramped up and I found myself dedicating hours a day to practice. The time I spent with my instrument only increased once I made the decision to join the marching band as well. Despite the time the hobby took up, I was in the marching band for three years of high school and went as far as to become the president of my school's national music honor society in my senior year.

I remember my friends who weren’t in band asking me why I spent so much time on band since I would go straight to a three-hour practice after a school day and go to work right after. At the time I simply grinned and told them that I just loved music, but now that I’ve had time to reminisce, I’ve come up with a better answer as to why I put so much of myself into my craft.

I believe that there is unbridled joy in putting your entire being into perfecting something alongside others. To dedicate yourself wholly and unabashedly to something that might not present results takes a kind of courage that would have taken me much longer to develop had it not been for band. The friendships I made in band are unlike any other I’ve made throughout my life due in most part to having given so much of ourselves to a common goal. Getting a close to perfect score on a performance or winning first place in competitions together made the endless hours we put in worth our while.

Although I’m not in band anymore, the experience has shaped my approach to my education at the University of Georgia. It gives me the strength to put all of myself into what I pursue and for that, I will be forever grateful.