Avery Stafford's first bassoon

Some teenagers get a car or balloons for their sixteenth birthday. I got a bassoon. The day I got my very own instrument is one of my fondest teenage memories. The bassoon is a long, wooden, elegant instrument played in orchestras. I discovered my passion for music sophomore year, and I played several hours a day on the school instrument I had borrowed.

Everyone has participated in a scavenger hunt likely at some point in their lives, and that’s how I found my birthday present. My friends and parents were all in on it, and sent me around the house to find clues in locations like the freezer, mailbox and eventually my brother’s closet.

I opened my brother’s closet to discover a slim, long box covered in blue wrapping paper topped with a bow. I felt giddy, and confused, but I tore through the wrapping paper anyways while sitting on my brother’s floor. I opened the slim case to uncover my own instrument and gasped with excitement.

I recall playing my maple-colored bassoon for the first time. I wanted to play all night, but with great dread, I put it back in its case to continue the festivities. I F