The first weekend at Berklee 5-week

Two years of isolation was over and my gap year was about to begin. I felt anxious to start my life and I needed to start my gap year with something that pushed my comfort zone. I had heard about the Berklee Aspire 5-week program a year earlier from a distant cousin in Montreal, but after my mom had brought it up to me again in March, I started to think more seriously about going. Music camp. Music had become something I kept to myself as adolescent insecurities took over. I needed something to spark my love for music again and something to get me away from the overall negative experience that was existing as a teenager in high school. With uncertainty of getting a visa in time and being able to attend the summer program at all, I graduated high school and left for Boston.

A supposed eight hour drive, extended by the fact that all Ontario cell towers had lost reception, resulting in no cell phone directions for my dad and I’s trip. I attempted to use a map leading us in the wrong direction quite a few times. We arrived in Boston in the dark and drove around for an hour searching for our hotel. Finally, we got to our hotel and I got a chance to settle with my nerves and really take in how terrified I was. What subdued my nervous energy was the fact that a girl named Rosa messaged me on Instagram and wanted to meet up with her and another girl, Olivia, in the morning. At least I would have some people to take on the events of the morning with.

I woke up anxious to be on time to meet Rosa and Olivia but was relieved when I found out how great they were. When I met them the first thing I thought was how warm and kind they both were. It didn't feel like I was meeting them for the first time, rather old friends I hasn't seen in years. We immediately got along. Rosa is from Brooklyn, New York and Olivia is from Orange County, California. They both were great representations of what I, as a Canadian, imagined what people from either state would be like.

We met so many people the first day, all who were so passionate and excited as we were. While waiting in line to get assigned a room (the three of us had decided to be roommates) Rosa saw a girl named Julia who she knew from home and she joined us in line. Julia was there for piano, she seemed a little nervous and it made me relieved because so was I. We spent the day together and then we met Lindsay. Lindsay was there for guitar and I thought that was so cool as I always wanted to learn. Later that night, Olivia, Lindsay and I went to a practice room with some other people and stayed up until 1:00 am just playing and singing and talking. It was so cool to meet so many different people from all over the world who seemed so impossibly similar to me.

The first weekend flew by while at the same time feeling like a week. The people I had known for three days felt like friends I had known for years. It was something strange I hadn’t experienced before. Everything was so fast paced in the best way, filled with music and people who thought similarly to how I did. I felt comfortable and at home very early and I so relieved. So relieved to confirm what I has always believed, that leaving home was what I needed to do. I couldn't even imagine what was to come next or that these girls would be some of my favourite people in the world. Who knew life long friendships are made at music camp?