Music And Me

• Hello everyone! I'm Rebekah Rogers, and I am currently a senior at Converse University. I started getting involved in music through the church choir, and then started playing the clarinet in the 6th-grade band. I didn't really take learning the clarinet seriously, mostly because I constantly had band directors come in and out of the school. When college came around, my first semester of college, I wasn't a music major and was undecided. Once I got involved with some of the music activities at Limestone, I started to really like the clarinet again and just grew more in love with music since. I also started learning the saxophone on my own, my first year of college, and just found myself loving that instrument as well. I am now a woodwind instructor at Chesnee High School and have more passion for music through teaching woodwind groups during marching band and concert band seasons. I have picked up a couple of private clarinet students along the way. So, music has brought me so many great things, from amazing lifelong friends and professors, students, knowledge, passion, and most importantly, the meaning/purpose of performing or listening to music. I always say -- Music chose me, I didn't choose it, and it makes it more meaningful, at least to me.

-To add on about other small details about my life, other than music-

• I am 24 years old, and I am the oldest of two sisters. They both play instruments as well, which is the trumpet. So, as you might imagine, I was always getting picked on because I was the weird one for picking a woodwind instrument, which always needed fixing, and momma wasn't always happy about that one, lol. Also, I have a grandmother who is a self-taught pianist. Some of the places that I have traveled around the world are Germany, Vienna (yes, I did go see Mozart's apartment), Hawaii, the Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, Texas, and Disney World. Other hobbies I like to do are read, run, paint, and I am a really good makeup artist. I used to do makeup on the side in high school. One fun fact about me is that I went to acting school in Raleigh, NC. I also graduated from it while being in High School. Since I was 5 years old, I loved acting and theater. I did a lot of musical production in High School. Not really sure why I didn't go further with it. Most Imporatnly I have a fur baby named Cooper that I love so much. So, I hope you enjoy the cutest picture of us together.

1. A Song I Like Right Now---When I was 17 years old, my father had passed away. I always grew up listening to his favorite rock bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Shinedown, and Kiss. One of his favorite songs by Lynyrd Skynyrd was " Simple Man." He would constantly play this song on repeat, and when he passed away, it was one of the songs played at his funeral. I started to listen to this song a lot at that time, and I just couldn't stop. It made me feel like he was right there with me. I started to dig deeper into what the lyrics were saying and tried to relate to them like we all do with our favorite songs. The chorus of the song, specifically in there that started to hit hard at that time and still today. The chorus is "And be a simple kind of man Oh, be something you love and understand Baby, be a simple kind of man Oh, won't you do this for me, son if you can?" This part of the song became significant in my life because I started to see it as if my father was saying that to me from above. So when I graduated from High School, I put a similar chorus on my cap, and it was " Be a simple kind of woman Be someone you love and understand, Be a simple kind of woman, Won't you do this for me daughter until the end." To me, it was as if he was telling me that as I walk across that stage and through life until I pass away. So I hope you can enjoy this song. :)

2. My Walk-Up- Song ------- "Say Hey ( I Love You) by Michael Franti. I came across this song back in 2016, and I always thought it was a fun, upbeat song that everyone could bop their head to. This song reminds me of peace and love for each other. So, if you ever need a song that will bring out your dopamine, this one is it!

3. An Example of A Music I Don't Really Connect With------- One song that I really wanted to like, but it just overstimulates/ creeps me out is "Happier Than Ever" by Billie Eilish. Yes, I know someone is goingto chew me out for this one. Don't get me wrong, the lyrics of this song are very relatable. I love the music video, it gives it so much pain, which is what the song is trying to translate to us. The production, especially at the end it just too much. It makes me feel like I am trapped in a jail cell with demonic figures. Sounds insane, but it just does. I love Bille, though, this is just her style.