Maria's Skills... Finally~

Name: Music~ Flute

Ability: Reputation-wise, it all depends on the kind of people she socialized with. In primary, it didn't affect her as much to play. Whereas in her secondary school, she was considered the music-geek because she enjoyed playing. In the end, her group of friends in secondary, ended up being people who played instruments in her year. This was mainly because they played in the same bands as her, so she saw them a lot, and talked to them a bit, in between breaks at the bands. Saying this, though, she wasn't one to talk much anyway, showing perhaps this wasn't because of her ability.

To begin with, as usually is the case, she found it difficult playing, almost on the verge of stopping. But she continued onwards, trying and trying, proving that practice really made perfect. Her family wasn't naturally gifted with music, so she saw it her chance to break that tradition. At the point she's at now, (grade 7), it could be considered 'great,' but there is much more room for improvement in Maria's eyes.

History: At first, she wasn't focused on music in particular. Her ambition wasn't set from the get-go. However, when she was about 10 years old, her teacher announced free flute lessons courtesy of the school, for anyone who wanted to play. Supposing it'd be fun, she was put into the audition-process. A few months passed, and she discovered, along with a small handful from her class, that they could begin lessons. Overjoyed, she started immediately on a borrowed flute from the music service.

At first, she could barely get a note out of the instrument, let alone play a line of music. Yet, she didn't give up, unlike some of her peers, and kept trying it day after day. Eventually, she began playing notes (out of tune, perhaps), but notes nonetheless. Slowly but steadily, she progressed. The skill didn't come too naturally, and she had to put a lot of effort into getting what she wanted. She'd struggle with the finger-structures sometimes, or found it difficult to read from the stave which note she was playing.

Eventually, she was invited to the local 'training' windband for young children who could play their instruments to about grade 2 standard. Progressing in this fashion, she was invited to the 'junior' windband, and 'junior' orchestra, improving daily. Turning 13 years old, it got to the point where she met grade 5, and was offered the chance to play at the local 'senior philamonic' but she turned down the offer, as she was leaving the UK to live in America with her aunt in a year's time.

Soon after turning 14, she began living with her aunt, staying with her for half a year before attending Whisper Hallow, where she'd in her current position at about grade 7 standard, but has yet to find an orchestra she could join. Here at WHA, she tries to practice in her dorm, but stuggles to find a oppurtunity, as she feels guilty for perhaps disturbing other people in the coridoor with her music. All in all, she still plays, just not as much as she used to, despite enjoying it.

NOTE: She also struggles with the aural aspect, having no intention of learning to sing, as she just hates her voice. So no, she doesn't sing very well, and unlike most 'musicians' she doesn't play the piano. This is mainly because she feels it's all too time-consuming, and with learning the flute, it already takes enough free time as it is. However, she enjoys playing very much.

--

Name: Mathematics & logic

Ability:Overall, this skill doesn't really seem to affect her popularity, as in class, she tends to keep her head down anyway, and answer as little questions as possible, so not to be seen as a 'geek.' However, this skill does make her appear arrogant on the outside, sometimes, as noted by her previous school 'friends.' With maths and logic, she's certainly above average, but there's always room for improvement, with so much to learn within the topics.

History: This skill seems to run strong in her family, (mainly being on her mother's side, as her dad was hopeless at maths). Maria likes to think it's inherited from her mother, who was always a logical person, and achieved high grades in maths, however she it's more likely to be from practice at a young age. Maria seems to be quite competitive, logic-wise, always trying to solve problems before everyone-else. Once given a puzzle of some sort, she will stubbornly sit there and try to solve it without help, not moving until she has completed the given task- probably Maria's achilles heel.

--

Name: Technology

Ability: Despite not owning all the latest gadgets, or having any intention to, she likes knowing about the subject. Currently she enjoys ICT and film studies, as it goes further in depth, and would almost certainly benefit her in future career options. She's a tad above average, enjoying taking photos in her personal time, and editing chunks of data, although it's probably not her best skill... she enjoys it very much. Learning how to work new equipment is probably the most fun part for her. Another thing to note, is that she doesn't get labelled as 'nerd' or 'geek' for doing so, as many people seem to take a similar interest, so it doesn't affect her popularity-status too much. It could in ways that she doesn't buy the latest pieces of technology often, so is behind in the times, but reading about them is where she gets the most enjoyment, along with testing it. Basically, she enjoys technology, but it's not as good a skill as her music.

History: Her older brother Adam was always the tech-geek of the house, trying to invent new ideas, and testing out technology at its best. Being the only sibling she had, Maria looked up to him as a role-model of sorts, and gradually picked up tidbits of information. He'd forever be talking about all the different articles he's read about how technology was improving. This is probably what led Maria to take up ICT and Film at WHA. She enjoyed the topic, and picked it up pretty easily. Admittedly, she'd not constantly hooked up to gadgets, and would much rather stick her nose in a good book for a few hours than stare at a computer screen, but she really enjoys how the world develops its gadgets.

This is brilliant, really. I love how hard she tried to learn how to play the flute. Approved!