Greetings everyone! I hope you are having a successful semester. After weeks and months of hard practice it's finally the time of year to show off all you have learned. Concerts are happening all the time, which is exciting, but also can be stressful. Before you get too stressed I want you to take a deep breath and relax. This is the time to remind yourself why you chose to study music, why you chose to spend your entire day in one credit hour classes. In the end it may be stressful, but it's worth every second.

I feel truly lucky I have the opportunity to study music education. Who else gets to learn guitar for their major? Learning all of the different instruments is one of the most enjoyable parts of the major for me. Overall though, I love teaching and working with students. Seeing the joy in a student's eyes after they have finally played through their first concert is priceless. Helping others find joy in music is a great part of being a music educator.

I encourage everyone to take advantage of the many different musical opportunities that are available. Most students come in with a focus in mind, such as, "I'm the band kid, I'm only in marching band" or "I'm a choir kid, I just sing in choirs." I will admit I came in as a "band kid," but this year I have started to expand my horizons. I joined orchestra, started playing some chamber music, and soon I hope to join a choir. Many music educators spend time teaching music disciplines outside of their major, and college is the perfect time to develop these new skills.

Recently, NAfME Collegiate members from around the state attended our annual KCOMTEPS in Wichita. Dr. Debra Hedden and Dr. Leigh Ann Garner excelled at teaching attendees about many aspects of music education. These two music educators inspired attendees about teaching general music. They demonstrated fun and creative ways to help build the foundation of a child's education in music. I don't think I've ever had so much fun learning about rhythm.

Registration was larger this year than we expected, and I'm very pleased that so many music majors could attend. I felt stressed about my upcoming exams, which caused me to forget why I love music education. Seeing everyone so excited about teaching techniques, applying for jobs, and the first year teachers made me realize why I do what I do; I genuinely love teaching children music. It's all about transferring your love of music to the next generation of students. Whenever you feel stressed take a deep breath and remember why you love music education.