My first semester at Berklee has been incredible. The level of musicianship surrounding me is simultaneously inspiring and daunting. I have never spent so many continuous hours practicing, writing, and listening to music. I was lucky enough to be granted a scholarship for the Berklee Five-Week Performance Program this summer by MVYouth and the Fialkows. My growth as a musician has been exponential from the beginning of that program to now. The staff here are world class musicians, but I’ve found myself more inspired and influenced by the students around me. I spend most of my free time writing and jamming with Saebin, another first semester freshman from Virginia, who has become my closest friend here. From the very first time we played together, it was clear that we had a connection through our mutual ambition to become successful artists. Since then, we have written an EP that we plan to record second semester. The community at Berklee is like no other. Berklee creates a highly motivating environment that keeps you in the mindset to work on your music 24/7. I’ve expanded from playing mainly finger-style acoustic guitar to exploring blues, rock, and jazz styles. Students are allowed to pick their classes starting in the second semester, and I am excited to start taking music business and production classes that will help me explore my possible career paths here at Berklee. I could not be more thankful for the opportunity MVYouth has given me to develop and refine my craft.