Whenever I Hear The Star Spangled Banner
Whenever I hear “The Star Spangled Banner”, I close my eyes and try to see patriots with their muskets fighting for our freedom. As hard as I try to imagine it though, other things keep popping into my mind, things like baseball and clarinets. In a few seconds my mind has turned from patriots fighting to patriots playing clarinets. If that isn’t weird enough, there is a baseball game in the background.
For a while I drove myself crazy trying to piece together why these things came to mind. I knew that the triumphant way it’s played meant something, but what? After tediously trying to piece the puzzle together, I decided to take a break and play my clarinet for a while.
Then it hit me in mid song; it didn’t remind me of my clarinet, it reminded me of an effort I made on my clarinet.
Once, at the Fourth of July I wanted to play “The Star Spangled Banner”. It wouldn’t be an easy thing to do since I had nothing to start from, but I never ran from a challenge. Armed with a clarinet, a piece of paper, and a pencil, I set out to decode the notes in the song and then play it.
It must have taken about three hours, but by sunset I could play it. It was wonderful when I walked inside and told everyone I could play “The Star Spangled Banner”. I didn’t look in the mirror, but I was sure I was bursting with pride.
After my flashback, it occurred to me our national anthem is played before or after a challenge, whether it’s before a baseball game or after our person won a gold medal in the Olympics. When it was first written, it was for the people who defended our flag in 1814. Many challenges came their way and even more temptations. Yet they stuck with their beliefs and they succeeded. Our national anthem celebrates challenges and each challenge is rewarded, whether it’s freedom from tyranny, winning a gold medal, or even just feeling the satisfaction success gives you.
In the United States of America you are constantly asked to challenge yourself and to reach higher than you ever had before. Nothing is impossible here and anyone, no matter who you are or what you believe in, can achieve your goals, even reach the moon. It’s the American dream and I’m proud to live it.