Butterflies: that familiar feeling when you are just about to perform. The audience impatiently waiting for the performance. Unity: when all the instruments familiarize themselves to find the right note. All these feelings and more are all felt right before a performance, but for Brianna Alvarez, all these things come natural for her. 

  Brianna Alvarez is a senior at PPCHS who unfortunately was cut short from her senior year. Typically this is the year where all your hard work comes back to reward you with a diploma, Grad Bash, and an exciting feeling for the unknown as one prepares for college. But, with COVID-19 her plans were altered. Luckily for her she has something to look forward to: her freshman year at UF. Brianna expressed, “Personally speaking, this pandemic has affected the way I will enter my freshman year of college. This is an enormous change, and now that events like campus preview are cancelled, I wonder how I am going to adapt to a college lifestyle and workload online.” While it may be an unexpected year, it will definitely leave an imprint rippling into her adult life.

  On that note, meet Brianna. She is a carefree, generous young adult who loves to educate herself. In regards to her career, she chose to major in accounting at UF as she enjoys math. When she’s not adding up numbers, she often hangs out with her friends, watches the CW show “All American,” and journal.

  In her years at Charter, she has participated in band as this is her escape from reality. Since the 6th grade, Brianna has spread her wings in the art of band, learning different musical pieces that strengthen her melodious abilities. But for Brianna, it comes natural to her as she has played instruments since the 4th grade. “[Looking back], I decided to join band because my older sister did it and had a very positive experience with Central Campus’ program,” Alvarez confessed. From the very beginning, Brianna has enjoyed playing in band as it creates community and a sense of accomplishment from performing. And after putting tiresome hours practicing, there is nothing more rewarding than acing your performance. “When performing, I feel a sense of pride that I can’t get anywhere else. Essentially, I feel pride for my school and pride in showing off all the hard work the band as a whole puts in. When the adrenaline starts rushing and you hear people cheering, you start to get all excited and energetic, which is something I really enjoy!” she stated. For a senior like Brianna, it struck a cord since she is missing out on a number of opportunities that could have been. “I can’t lie and say I’ve taken it lightly. This was the last year I was able to experience events such as State Solo and Ensemble, Indoor Percussion Championships, Band Banquet, and my final Band concert. Needless to say, I am quite upset. I feel as if I still have so much work I could put into our program and so much to accomplish, but unfortunately this virus has halted that. However, I have tried to stay optimistic about the whole situation. At least I have even more time to work on college marching band auditions,” Alvarez confessed. In spite of the circumstances, Brianna has evidently been able to keep her spirits up through it all. 

  In retrospect, Brianna has had a significant impact at PPCHS. Not only did she participate in band, but she immersed herself in other avenues that compliment her performing skills. Brianna said, “My lasting impact is most likely the leadership I’ve held in the form of public speaking. I have had the pleasure of hosting the morning announcements for three years and I have MC-ed countless events. I have a ton of school spirit and I truly enjoy conveying that to and rallying up the student body.” While these times have dampered on her senior plans, it didn’t entirely ruin her high school memories; if anything, it added to her long list of overcoming obstacles in the midst of this deadly virus. 

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