Readings from a Musical Meerkat
By: Hope R., Grand Musician & Rep. to NJ/NY, Chico-Paradise
Hello everybody! I, Hope R., got installed as the Grand Musician and Representative to New Jersey and New York. It hit me that I was a Grand Officer during my first meeting back to my assembly. My mother and Grand Deputy of Chico-Paradise reminded me that we had to sing the Grand Officer benediction. I have always been used to hearing it during meetings, but now it was my turn to sing it. I felt so proud to be a Grand Officer and to represent California Rainbow in New Jersey and New York. I was initiated in 2014 at Marysville Assembly when I was 11, and it was also the same night as my cousin’s majority at the age of 20. I transferred to Chico-Paradise in 2016 because my parents decided to start a 24/7 tow truck business in Willows. I have lived in Willows since 7th grade.
I have always loved to play music. Before I was even 1-year old, I would try to sing in church, and I started performing in the church choir as soon as I could speak. I eventually fell in love with playing music because of my mother, she was a music teacher for five years. I started out playing clarinet in 4th grade and I now play clarinet, bass clarinet, alto-bass clarinet, contra-bass clarinet, and a couple of notes on the oboe. When I transferred schools to Willows from Colusa, I joined their band. However, they had a marching band, and that was new to me. I ended up falling in love with marching and went on to perform in parades, competitions, football games, volleyball games, and even soccer games. I even did the auditions to perform at Chico State University; twice. As my band career blossomed, so did my school career.
I have been secretary in Recycle Club, always had above a 3.50 GPA, took AP courses, took honor classes, received academic awards, and took college classes, all while still in high school. A fun fact about me is that my favorite color is blue, I love Scooby-Doo, I love horses, and my favorite flower is a rose. This is cool because it just so happens that New Jersey’s state animal is a horse, and New York’s state flower is a rose. I hope this helped you get to know me, and I can’t wait to serve as the Musician in the centennial year of Rainbow in 2022!
