During quarantine, Senior Naomi Ashenafi struggled with losing a big part of her life: music and playing instruments. This affected her mentally and emotionally, but she had to maintain good grades in school and not shut down and drown. Ashenafi joined the San Dimas Band and played clarinet while playing piano and guitar on the side but slowly started to feel herself lose interest in the hobby during quarantine. “I slowly started to lose that passion because it felt forced. And it was something I loved, but I started to hate music”. This was a rough time for her because she didn’t know where to go and what to do because the thing she loved most was losing interest in.

This decision to quit playing music was a big part of Ashenafi’s life. She describes the decision: “It felt really weird because that was all I used to do. That was my thing, and it was fun.” Ashenafi found herself with a lot more time on her plate. And a big decision to make on what to fill that void with left her puzzled. She says, “It was tough. I didn’t know what to replace it with, but I did find a new thing. It was ASB, and it forced me to be more social and find new things”. ASB helped her deal with the stress and emptiness that leaving the San Dimas band and playing music left her feeling. 

The constant reminders of music and band make it hard to this day to cope with the decision to quit her passion for music. She says, “Watching like your siblings do what I did, and you just kinda see yourself and feel slightly disappointed.” Ashenafi mentions missing music and says, “I wonder what could have been a lot with music, and it brings many memories back and thoughts about it all, making it tougher to think about. I also think about how good I could be no if I kept at it and could have been my future. Could I have made a career out of it?” This extensive choice will always be a part of her life and will always stick with her and bring back thoughts and memories, but it has also helped Ashenafi grow throughout high school and helped her become more social and meet new people.