Clarinet

I haven’t touched it in 3 years. It’s been sitting in my closet, disassembled in its case, doing nothing but collecting dust as the days bleed into weeks, which turn to months, and eventually years.

 

I used to play it back in middle school, and I actually wasn’t too bad. I rarely ever practiced outside of class, but I still wasn’t too bad. I don’t even remember if I enjoyed playing it. I just did it. I wasn’t the best at it, and I wasn’t the worst. I didn’t love playing it, but I didn’t hate it either. It was just something I did.

 

I didn’t start playing because I had an interest in music. I simply started because my friends were doing it, and someone said we got ice cream at the end of the year after our concert. Yes, I said concert. I used to be a band kid. I played the clarinet from fifth grade until the end of eighth grade year. Why the clarinet, you ask? Well, I’ve also asked myself the same question. It’s not like the clarinet is the most important instrument in the band. I suppose the best reasoning I can think of is because it’s the instrument that Squidward plays in Spongebob.

 

It still sits in my closet, untouched, holding the memories of past concerts, with slightly chipped reeds, and a broken cleaning tool. The instrument is dirty, and the noise is choppy and rough after years of neglect. I don’t know what made me do it. I don’t know what finally inspired me, but this weekend, I grabbed the case from the back of my closet, assembled the instrument, and with the chipped reed, and worn down keys, I started to play.