My name is Sara. When I was little, I played the drums. I also had a guitar. In fourth grade, I started playing the trombone (长号). I practiced about four hours a week. All of this might not seem like a big deal for a lot of kids, but there' s something about me that makes me a bit different from others. I was born without hands. Since I was about one year old, I' ve worn prosthetics (假手).
This year, I got an invitation to join the high school marching band (行进管乐队). I told my mom I wanted to do it. But I had an instructor who thought I would not be able to march in the band—not because it was a high school band and I' m only in seventh grade, but probably because my body is different. All I wanted was to show that I could do it, so I joined the band. And it paid off!
Music gives me energy. That happens sometimes. One time I was so down, I didn' t even want to get out of bed. Then I hit my mp3 player by accident. A song came on, and I got up and started dancing. It helped me say to myself, " OK, I can get through today. "
Around my musician friends, we all share the same problems, like working out how many beats there are to a measure. I have a hard time counting the beats, but so do a lot of the other kids. It' s a normal problem that we musicians share. When I' m with the band, I don' t feel as different as I do in other situations. It' s just another way that music makes me want to go on, and not to just sit down by myself and not care about life.
