Aaron Johnson

As a junior last year, Aaron Johnson had no spare time. Every week was an exercise in scheduling, dividing his time between going to school, playing on the basketball team, and taking Berklee City Music Boston classes. He made some changes to his schedule for senior year and learned a lot about himself from that experience.

Last year I was asked to join a second City Music ensemble but decided not to do it because I already felt like my schedule was packed. There were a lot of conflicts between basketball and City Music. Although I was able to get the experience of both activities, I couldn’t make a full commitment to either because I was spreading myself very thin. I was busy every day of the week, sometimes having basketball and music on the same day, which meant a lot of driving around. When I had conflicts, I tried to alternate which program I had to miss. Because of my absences, it was important to communicate with the staff at both programs so that they knew my absences weren’t just about me skipping out.

This year, I made the decision to quit the basketball team, and now my schedule is a lot better. I can come out to Berklee and not miss any classes. I thought about what I wanted to do in life and knew that I wanted to capitalize on the opportunity to continue with City Music. I’m able to devote more of my time to music now, and that motivates me to practice more.

Currently I spend four days a week at Berklee and have the time to be in two ensembles. They’re helping me to be more confident in my soloing and to read charts better. I’m also getting a lot of practice playing by ear and learning how to arrange songs. I love being able to play different types of music and am getting comfortable playing for diverse groups of people.

Along with working on music, I think City Music has helped me prepare for college. In addition to interacting with Berklee faculty, the work-study students in our ensembles tell us what college is like through their eyes. In the fall I’ll be attending Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. One of the reasons I chose this school is because it is a historical black institution that has a real sense of brotherhood and community. Also, moving to the South and being around a different culture of people and lifestyle is going to be a really great change of pace for me. I’m planning to major in business and minor in music. I originally wanted to go to a school with a music industry program, but since Atlanta already has such a great music scene, I think that I’ll be in the right place to get into the industry.

Looking back now, I’ve realized that prioritizing is so necessary and that I need to really think about what is most important to me. I’ll definitely be taking that realization with me to college. My advice for anyone who is struggling with his or her schedule is to think about how they spend their time during the day. You might realize that those little amounts of doing nothing can add up to a lot of wasted time. Although it can be stressful, you should commit as much as you can to whatever you’re involved in. If you have a support system like I do, there’s no reason to be nervous or afraid; just jump in.