I'm 12, in the 6th grade and play the flute. I love the music I play. I think it's a great way to express myself. I like to hear the music. When I'm playing it's wonderful because I get to share the music inside me. I can play what I want.

In my band you can tell a lot about a person by what instrument they play, how they play it, and what they play on it. Like my best friend, Mereidith, is a flute player, too. She likes to play fast music with high notes. She is high spirited and a quick thinker. Another friend, Julie, is another flute player. She likes to play medium notes, not too high but not too low. She also plays slower music. She is very refined and polite, sort of like the music she plays, though she is a fast learner and very smart.

Music is good for you. I know it sure helped me in academics. I chose the flute because I knew I could do it. It was hard at first. I couldn't even make a sound, much less a clear one. Now, a year later, I am first chair. See, the person with the clearest tones, the best sight reading skills, the one who plays the notes right and all that jazz gets to sit in the first chair and gets a medal at the end of the year. Second chair would be the second best and so on.