Activities - Marnie Harrington

Throughout my life i have participated in several activities. Ballet, Music, tennis, swimming, drama etc. Here's a list of just a few of the activities I've done growing
up and my opinion of each one.

Ballet

I used to dance ballet for over three years before i stopped, I did two exams with good marks and i was going to more than one class a week! It was a lot of work with all the stretching and training, just getting ready in the leotard and doing the bun took 15 mins! It wasn't really for me though, i just don't dig the super hard training and muscle stretching, it hurt!
'It's not right that little girls should have to pull and strain their bodies in odd ways...' - Melinda Harrington (Mum). I remember our teacher would line us all up and we'd do a particular stretch and make us all pull! Everyone's faces would go red. But some people loved it! They made friends, had fun dancing, worked their bodies and strived to be better! Good for some people, but not me.

Choir

Mum had me in a music class since i was 18 months old! And when i was older she took me to choir rehearsals every week up until a couple of years ago when i got bored with it. It was getting to the point where i was just singing the same kind of songs that I'd sung for years and years all over again. But while I was in the chior, I made some great friends! We had good times singing and performing, they even recorded a song! I'd complain about it before we left to practice but once i was there, I was fine. Great memories! I'm sure it has helped me with the rest of my musical education but in my mind, singing in a choir and playing musical instruments were two separate things.

Swimming
For every activity I've tried, I've been fairly good at. Even the ballet. Not swimming though. Mum took me to swimming classes from the age of four and right from the beginning, I was hopeless! She kept bringing me to classes but i wouldn't really get any better! I was the worst in the class but I didn't seem to mind or really notice back then. I just had fun! I mainly looked forward to afterwards when mum would jump in with me and play with me! We'd do all sorts of games. Eventually, after several years, including a private coaching clinic, she gave up and we stopped the classes. We kept going until she was satisfied that I could save myself if need be. When I was older, I tried swimming classes again but I hated it! I don't like exerting myself to the absolute limit. I didn't like being the worst all the time and getting fatigued faster than anyone else and most of all, I

hated being all wet, having to shower afterwards, getting the chlorine out, trying to brush all the knots out of my hair and getting dressed. The only time i remember enjoying swimming, was when I'd go to Adventure Park with some friends. I really liked it because I just had lots of fun with my friends! It was really good until they drastically reduced their opening hours to just the weekends after we'd all paid $80 each on season passes. My friends had saved up all their money just to get those passes and so our whole weekly Adventure park Fridays was completely compromised! When I went swimming with others, I was the last out of the change rooms and people would say they'd been waiting for me for ages! I couldn't and still can't, understand how they got washed, dried, and dressed so quickly! And i didn't like how much my friends would complain about the time it took me. And to me, I was always trying to go as fast as I could! I've decided never to go swimming ever again, or as infrequently as possible. I just don't like it. At least with sports I'm actually OK at it, not that I like sports in anyway but i wasn't terrible. Just terrible with swimming.

Music!
Music is very special to me. I picked up the trombone (a brass instrument) when i was 7 and a half at

the Salvos, now known as Just Brass. I was one of the "Pioneers" as i like to call them when this
program started up. I, a few of my friends and some other kids were the first batch of kids they taught at the Salvation Army (Just Brass) when they first started up this brass band program! A lot of homeschoolers attended it. I've been playing trombone, learning music theory and doing exams ever since and I'm loving it! It has opened up so many opportunities in my life; Busking, performing (I have performed countless times over my life), raising money, the list goes on! right now I'm in several bands. I've learned to play trombone, percussion, a little bit of piano and i also know a little of valves from some brass instruments! I love my music and I've made friends and contacts through my music and have even been helping out in some schools teaching music as an informal apprentice since i was 12 1/2. I'm currently studying for my trombone grade 6 exam and continuously learning a wide spectrum of  musical concepts! Parents, I highly recommend getting a child to learn a musical instrument.

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