This is the story of a letter. No, not a letter of the alphabet. No, not a letter of the law. This is about a singular letter. But, before I get to that letter, I should start this story a few years back….
In 2008, the time came that I wasn't ready for. Graduation. Here I was, a senior with absolutely no direction. I had put about five seconds worth of time in my eighteen years on earth into what I would do after June 6th, 2008. So when the time came, I did what any sensible teenager with no direction does: community college.
With a 2.81 GPA, I didn't have much of a choice. So I enrolled at then SVCC (now SWCC), and had to choose what to major in. I was, and still am, musically talented. But I made the decision to leave music and instead major in mechanical engineering. My reasoning? My grandfather told me that engineers build bridges. That was it. That is the selling point of an eighteen year old.
So I did it. I enrolled and began classes in August of 2008. After about one week, I quickly realized that I hated what I had done and started to skip classes. I kept this trend up for about a week before the unthinkable happened: I lost my grandmother. On September 6th, 2008, Elsie Lowe left us. This was the first close loss that I had experienced. And this loss rocked my world. I fell into a deep clinical depression. I quit college. I quit my job. I lost my friends. I welled up and put a wall around me and let no one in. This depression still lives today, though I have learned how to control it better, albeit without medication. Oh the loves of not having medical insurance.
During the Christmas season of 2012 I was sitting at my friends Joe's house. He had recently went back to college to finish up his music education degree. I don't know how and I don't know why, but something clicked the day after Christmas. I had to go back. I had to get a degree.
So I enrolled at Bluefield College. BC is a private, Christian college in Bluefield, VA, and about the last place that I ever needed to be. But I went. Dr. Priest and Mr. Moxley welcomed me with open arms and started the process that would lead to my letter. Through the semester, I began to realize that BC wasn't the place for me. It was expensive. It was an hour drive every day to and from. And it was a religious college, and that doesn't mix well for someone who isn't religious. So over the summer break, I made the decision to leave BC and enroll at my community college again. This time, however, I went back into the right program.
I walked into SWCC in August of 2013 and no one knew that I had come to be a music major. There were several talks with Dr. Trivette about what I wanted to go into. He has had many music education and music performance majors, but I was something new. A new challenge. I am a Music Technology/Industry major. He didn't get me, and I didn't get him. It was a struggle from day one between the two of us. I began to debate weather I had made the right choice. Luckily, I had a supportive girlfriend to help me realize what needed to happen.
I sent Dr. Trivette a text message one night that was full of anger. I was pissed, and I made sure he knew it. His reaction was something that I wasn't ready for. He was excited. I had showed that I cared, and that was what he needed. We had a conversation the next day about me stepping into the "circle", and as long as I worked hard for him, he would work hard for me. So I stepped up my game. I began to care more, I began to practice more, and I was around more.
We began to look towards the future. Where was I going to go to college after I left SWCC? I hadn't put too much thought into it, so I was open to ideas. My then girlfriend and two of my close friends in the department were going to go to Appalachian State in Boone, NC. This made sense. Dr. Trivette graduated from ASU, he had transferred many students to the university, and I could live with the two friends and my girlfriend. It all made so much sense. Yet, I could tell somewhere down inside that I wasn't going to be completely happy.
I applied to the university and was granted admission for the fall of 2015. Part one: check. Shortly after this point, I decided that I would request for an audition at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg as well, just to have a safety valve if needed. So with that, I sent in my transcripts and applied to VT. My auditions were also scheduled. January 17th at ASU, and February 14th at VT.
Around this point, my girlfriend and I separated. This singular event opened my eyes that I was following her to App. St. instead of following my own heart and going to the school that I had dreamed of since the age of 9. So I began to put more stock into the VT audition. The ASU audition came around and I did my thing. Looking back, I probably didn't play to the best of my ability. How could I? I didn't want to go there. I still had my eye on Blacksburg. And, as expected, shortly after my auction, I received a letter that the Music Department at ASU had denied me admission.
This effected me a little. I began to have self doubt that I could actually get into VT if I couldn't get into ASU. So I began to work a little harder to make sure my prepared piece at VT was all it could be. I also had a lesson with the low brass instructor at VT. He told me what I needed to improve on, and what I was already doing right. This was a confidence builder.
February 14th rolled around. I woke up at 9:30 so I could leave the house at 10. My best friend Bryan lives in an apartment at Tech, so I headed to his house before the audition to try and calm my nerves. We goofed off and played GTAV and went and picked up a few VT shirts for me before heading over to Squires. All of this helped to keep me calm, and I played the audition that I had dreamed I would. I nailed it. I nailed the interview portion. I knew that I had done the best that I could.
They said it would take roughly two weeks to receive the letter telling us if we had made it or not. The last two weeks rolled by at a snails pace. I was stressed. I had wavering moods. Anxiety. Loss of appetite. Loss of sleep. Nightmares. You name it, I had it. I waited by the mailbox every day waiting for the letter. The longer it went without the letter, the more anxiety I had. I had all but given up hope. I was sure that I hadn't made it. It's funny how your mind reacts when it has the pressure of years of work and your future career on the line.
Saturday, Feb. 28th. I was at my brothers rec. league basketball game when I got a phone call. The letter was at my house. I immediately rushed out of the rec. park and began the five minute drive home. I hit every red-light there was to hit. Every stop sign made me wait for a car to slowly pass by. My mind was racing. I was finally about to find out my fate. I pulled into the drive and ran up the porch steps. I walked in the door and my grandparents were waiting for me to get there. Waiting for me to read the letter. Waiting……
I zipped the letter open and pulled out the paper and took a deep breath………….
"Dear Joshua,
I am pleased to inform you that based on your recent audition the School of Performing Arts/Music/Theatre/Cinema has recommended you for acceptance to our program."
Those twenty-eight words were the best twenty-eight words anyone could ever put in a letter. The weeks of anxiety and stress left my body. The weight of the world fell off my shoulders. I openly wept with pure relief as I handed the letter to my grandparents for them to read.
Two and a half years of hard work had paid off. Going to Bluefield College had paid off. Coming back to SWCC had paid off. All the hours of work with my trombone professor Dr. Necessary paid off. Working after hours with my best friend Joe paid off. Being a student of Dr. Trivette paid off. Quitting my job at the start of my sophomore year to focus solely on my recital and my audition paid off. There is no better feeling in the world than when the hard work pays off.
So here I sit on Sunday, March 1st. Two weeks prior to my twenty-fifth birthday. And today I can proudly say the words that I have always dreamed of saying.
I am a Hokie.
With a 2.81 GPA, I didn't have much of a choice. So I enrolled at then SVCC (now SWCC), and had to choose what to major in. I was, and still am, musically talented. But I made the decision to leave music and instead major in mechanical engineering. My reasoning? My grandfather told me that engineers build bridges. That was it. That is the selling point of an eighteen year old.
So I did it. I enrolled and began classes in August of 2008. After about one week, I quickly realized that I hated what I had done and started to skip classes. I kept this trend up for about a week before the unthinkable happened: I lost my grandmother. On September 6th, 2008, Elsie Lowe left us. This was the first close loss that I had experienced. And this loss rocked my world. I fell into a deep clinical depression. I quit college. I quit my job. I lost my friends. I welled up and put a wall around me and let no one in. This depression still lives today, though I have learned how to control it better, albeit without medication. Oh the loves of not having medical insurance.
During the Christmas season of 2012 I was sitting at my friends Joe's house. He had recently went back to college to finish up his music education degree. I don't know how and I don't know why, but something clicked the day after Christmas. I had to go back. I had to get a degree.
So I enrolled at Bluefield College. BC is a private, Christian college in Bluefield, VA, and about the last place that I ever needed to be. But I went. Dr. Priest and Mr. Moxley welcomed me with open arms and started the process that would lead to my letter. Through the semester, I began to realize that BC wasn't the place for me. It was expensive. It was an hour drive every day to and from. And it was a religious college, and that doesn't mix well for someone who isn't religious. So over the summer break, I made the decision to leave BC and enroll at my community college again. This time, however, I went back into the right program.
I walked into SWCC in August of 2013 and no one knew that I had come to be a music major. There were several talks with Dr. Trivette about what I wanted to go into. He has had many music education and music performance majors, but I was something new. A new challenge. I am a Music Technology/Industry major. He didn't get me, and I didn't get him. It was a struggle from day one between the two of us. I began to debate weather I had made the right choice. Luckily, I had a supportive girlfriend to help me realize what needed to happen.
I sent Dr. Trivette a text message one night that was full of anger. I was pissed, and I made sure he knew it. His reaction was something that I wasn't ready for. He was excited. I had showed that I cared, and that was what he needed. We had a conversation the next day about me stepping into the "circle", and as long as I worked hard for him, he would work hard for me. So I stepped up my game. I began to care more, I began to practice more, and I was around more.
We began to look towards the future. Where was I going to go to college after I left SWCC? I hadn't put too much thought into it, so I was open to ideas. My then girlfriend and two of my close friends in the department were going to go to Appalachian State in Boone, NC. This made sense. Dr. Trivette graduated from ASU, he had transferred many students to the university, and I could live with the two friends and my girlfriend. It all made so much sense. Yet, I could tell somewhere down inside that I wasn't going to be completely happy.
I applied to the university and was granted admission for the fall of 2015. Part one: check. Shortly after this point, I decided that I would request for an audition at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg as well, just to have a safety valve if needed. So with that, I sent in my transcripts and applied to VT. My auditions were also scheduled. January 17th at ASU, and February 14th at VT.
Around this point, my girlfriend and I separated. This singular event opened my eyes that I was following her to App. St. instead of following my own heart and going to the school that I had dreamed of since the age of 9. So I began to put more stock into the VT audition. The ASU audition came around and I did my thing. Looking back, I probably didn't play to the best of my ability. How could I? I didn't want to go there. I still had my eye on Blacksburg. And, as expected, shortly after my auction, I received a letter that the Music Department at ASU had denied me admission.
This effected me a little. I began to have self doubt that I could actually get into VT if I couldn't get into ASU. So I began to work a little harder to make sure my prepared piece at VT was all it could be. I also had a lesson with the low brass instructor at VT. He told me what I needed to improve on, and what I was already doing right. This was a confidence builder.
February 14th rolled around. I woke up at 9:30 so I could leave the house at 10. My best friend Bryan lives in an apartment at Tech, so I headed to his house before the audition to try and calm my nerves. We goofed off and played GTAV and went and picked up a few VT shirts for me before heading over to Squires. All of this helped to keep me calm, and I played the audition that I had dreamed I would. I nailed it. I nailed the interview portion. I knew that I had done the best that I could.
They said it would take roughly two weeks to receive the letter telling us if we had made it or not. The last two weeks rolled by at a snails pace. I was stressed. I had wavering moods. Anxiety. Loss of appetite. Loss of sleep. Nightmares. You name it, I had it. I waited by the mailbox every day waiting for the letter. The longer it went without the letter, the more anxiety I had. I had all but given up hope. I was sure that I hadn't made it. It's funny how your mind reacts when it has the pressure of years of work and your future career on the line.
Saturday, Feb. 28th. I was at my brothers rec. league basketball game when I got a phone call. The letter was at my house. I immediately rushed out of the rec. park and began the five minute drive home. I hit every red-light there was to hit. Every stop sign made me wait for a car to slowly pass by. My mind was racing. I was finally about to find out my fate. I pulled into the drive and ran up the porch steps. I walked in the door and my grandparents were waiting for me to get there. Waiting for me to read the letter. Waiting……
I zipped the letter open and pulled out the paper and took a deep breath………….
"Dear Joshua,
I am pleased to inform you that based on your recent audition the School of Performing Arts/Music/Theatre/Cinema has recommended you for acceptance to our program."
Those twenty-eight words were the best twenty-eight words anyone could ever put in a letter. The weeks of anxiety and stress left my body. The weight of the world fell off my shoulders. I openly wept with pure relief as I handed the letter to my grandparents for them to read.
Two and a half years of hard work had paid off. Going to Bluefield College had paid off. Coming back to SWCC had paid off. All the hours of work with my trombone professor Dr. Necessary paid off. Working after hours with my best friend Joe paid off. Being a student of Dr. Trivette paid off. Quitting my job at the start of my sophomore year to focus solely on my recital and my audition paid off. There is no better feeling in the world than when the hard work pays off.
So here I sit on Sunday, March 1st. Two weeks prior to my twenty-fifth birthday. And today I can proudly say the words that I have always dreamed of saying.
I am a Hokie.