Pleasant Acres

Over Christmas Break, I brought myself and four other students from Central York High School to Pleasant Acres Nursing Home, and we played for some of the residents there. It was kind of nerve wracking when we got there, because I was under the impression that we would have a place set up for us. But when we got there, the receptionist basically just told us where we were supposed to go. There wasn't any stands, chairs, anything. Luckily, my peers all brought enough stands, and we were able to go through the rest pretty smoothly. The students that I brought with me where Erica Hinchcliff, Kate Eckman, Alex Byrne, and Paul Berry. Once we got started, it went pretty smoothly, and all of the students who went with me expressed interest in doing it again.

Research

I think that the information that I found could be helpful to other individuals who have the same passion that I do. I found colleges that have a music therapy program, and a list that has been approved by the Music Therapy Association.  They now have a list of respectable colleges that have a good music therapy program. Also from my research, another individual would realize their requirements that they would need to graduate with some sort of degree in music therapy.
I recently emailed the band director to ask him what a small group of instrumentalists would look like and how many people to bring. I also have recently made contact again with my authority, in order to clarify that it was okay and to call her. I am currently in the process of reaching her through a phone call in order to determine the date and how many individuals I could bring with me. I am also in the process of determining which of my friends and fellow instrumentalists will be accompanying me in my journey to Pleasant Acres Nursing Home.

Music therapy

One main professional opportunity is music therapy. I am basically doing a simpler version of it. Music therapy is when you go to a person who is diagnosed with a disease, and you relate with them through music. There are a lot of colleges that offer music therapy in their music education program. It is known that you have to start in music education, and then work your way into music therapy. I think that this would be a great opportunity because you can talk to people that you wouldn't normally talk to, and help people grow into music and feel better about themselves.

Taking Action (Finally)

After a lot of searching, failed attempts at phone calls, and stress, my authority finally contacted me back. I changed my authority, to Virginia Folk, who is also in the nursing department at Pleasant Acres. I emailed her and asked her if it was okay for my project to take place, and she replied with a positive response. I was allowed to play there, and the only thing we need to work out are the details, like where, how many people I'm bringing, exc. Since I'm planning on taking action around Christmas time (I'm playing Christmas music), my plan is to talk with Mr. Martini, the band director here at CYHS, and see what instruments and music he thinks is best to play there. Then, I will call my authority and see what dates are available for us to play. So far, my plan is working out very smoothly!

Pitch Day

Pitch day was a lot like I was told and expected it to be, but it still came as a surprise. Since a lot of the administration and staff were there, some pressure was placed on my shoulders, as well as others, in ensuring that we did our very best to impress them, and as it turned out we did. I found it necessary to try to keep quiet, as I found that some of the parents talked in a quiet manner, and it was difficult to hear. I was still nervous, but I knew that I knew my presentation well, and it helped a lot because Abby was stationed right next to me, and it helped to have a best friend there, so we could be nervous together.

Realization

So far, I've completed my Pitch Project, and figured out basically my whole game plan. I've honestly got it all figured out, and if one little thing goes wrong, the whole thing will practically fall apart. Throughout this process, I've learned a lot about my style, work ethic, and just me in general. I am simply a procastinator. I'll wait until almost the last minute to do things, unless I have music, which helps my case in a lot of ways. I have to bring my music to school and plug in my headphones in order to maintain my focus, and if I don't, I will get so off task that I won't get anything done. It's like I'm in my own little world when the headphones are in, and that's the only place I can get work done.
The way my mind works, is once I have an idea, it will just keep developing, no matter if it's as big as I can get. From the beginning, I have gotten way farther than I would have imagined, because my mind keeps coming up with ways to make this project even better than it alreeady is. I started out with me and a friend on a trip to York Hospital, and now I have an even grander plan, with a bigger result, and I'm happy with it. That's probably the easiest thing that I have accomplished in this projet.
Something relatively difficult was finding the time to do what I need to do. For example, the person I was planning on contacting, Becky Heywood, doesn't have the same schedule I do. She only will pick up the phone from 8-4 on weekdays. I found this frusterating to deal with because personally, I have a busy schedule, and usually are doing things from 8-4 every day, and when I finally got home on a school day, I would completely forget to call her until it was almost 5:00, which didn't really help the situation.
The "Real world" is not so different from what I imagined, but I knew it was going to be difficult from the start. Like I said, contacting the worker was an issue, becuase of conflicting schedules, but I realized that she's not coming to me, she doesn't even know that I was planning to contact her. I have to take control of what I want to get done, and I will just have to do it, since we are pretty much working on our own. So, I learned a lot about my character in the process of this project.

My Plan

Since my project involves a place and people that involve other human beings other then myself, I do have to contact more people to help me out. Since my plan is to try to visit Pleasant Acres, I will have to contact them to see if this is okay. I have not, as of right now, contacted the director of the home, but do indeed plan to in the near future.
I have researched Pleasant Acres and their facilitators, and have looked at people on whom  I could contact, and have taken an interest in the Human Resources manager, Becky Heywood. I figured that since her title is Human Resources, she would be able to tell me if it's alright of my idea of what I'm doing. Unfortunately, they close at 4, so I plan on calling tomorrow when I get home from school.
She is beneficial in order for me to go and visit Pleasant Acres because she is the Human Rescources Manager. She decides whether I am responsible enough to come and see them, and without her permission, and probably her bosses too, I can't go and help those people.