“Ever since I can remember, music has been a part of my life. Since I have an older brother, the easiest, and at that time, the most logical thing to do was follow his hobbies: to play a stringed instrument and join orchestra. I started playing the cello in fourth grade and joined orchestra the same year. At first, I liked it. But year after year of enduring my mom’s yelling at me to practice, long hours of orchestra, and auditions into higher levels, I started to hate music. I wanted to quit, but I thought quitting meant failure. So I didn’t. After five years of struggle and frustration, I quit cello. In the beginning, I was happy with my extra time, but as time went by, I missed music. I missed creating it. Except this time, I wanted to decide for myself. I started playing the guitar. I now play for only my enjoyment. To me now, music is a way to express and find myself.”
— Audrey Lee, Saratoga, California
