“I think being ‘weird’ is a very good thing; if you just follow the status quo and don’t voice your opinions, I think the world will just stay stagnant. It isn’t until people come up with new and unique ideas that the world can start moving forward.”

Nicole Bezzela, a junior, is a new student at our school as of this year. “I am most proud of myself for trying new things, such as switching schools. It was such a difficult decision, and there were so many unknowns, but if I hadn’t done that, I would never have met all the amazing people I already have in only three or so month’s I’ve been here.”

Nicole’s favorite word is recapitulation: “It means to do over again. I like how it sounds, and I also just like the meaning. It kind of cements in that if you like something, you should keep doing it.” Nicole is not one to give up on anything. She is perseverant and ambitious in all her passions. She plays with her pets, makes candles, and practices her instruments in her spare time. She loves the movies Dirty Dancing and Funny Girl and has an appreciation for the Harry Potter films and novels as well. When I asked her what her favorite book was, she couldn’t just pick one.

On Schooling:

What are your favorite school subjects?

Band, for sure. I really like US history and history in general and English.

What are your least favorite school subjects?

Gym!

Do you know what you might want to study in college and/or do someday for a living?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. For a while, I wanted to go into music education, but lately, I’ve been thinking about maybe getting into politics. I think, not to get too political, with the election this year, it’s made me think about things our country needs to focus on and the rights that minorities should have but don’t, and I’m really passionate about that, as well as equal rights for everybody.

Do you participate in any clubs or extracurricular activities besides band?

I’m in Horns of Plenty Christmas. We get 30 or so horns together of all different ages and we play Christmas music and have a concert. Here at north, I’m in Gender Equality, Girl Up, and Noctiluca.

On music and colors:

What’s your favorite color?

I like the cool colors like blue and green, mostly blue and teal.

Why?

I think they’re just relaxing colors, and they remind me of the sea and the ocean and calm.

Why do you associate the ocean with calm?

My family went to Hawai’i for my uncle’s wedding. He had his wedding on the beach, and the water was so calm and peaceful to watch. We spent about a week in Hawai’i.

What’s your least favorite color and why?

Neon yellow. It’s obnoxious. It’s a loud color. It’s too bright for me.

What kind of music do you listen to?

I listen to classical and Broadway. The “Dvorak New World Symphony” and “Wedding day at Troldhaugen” are some of my favorites. “Wedding Day” was my piano piece for solo and ensemble last year.

I play the French horn and piano. I started piano when I was four and I have been playing ever since. My horn, I started in sixth grade. I am in the jazz band. I like jazz, it’s interesting.

What is your favorite song? Does it have a color?

My “Wedding Day at Troldhaugen” piece is my favorite song. I love that piece because it changes; it has different emotions in different sections. The first section starts out really energetic and I feel happy playing that part. I feel energized with the music too. When it switches to the calm section, I feel like it calms me down too, I feel more relaxed and really emotional when I play that. I think it starts out as reds and bright oranges and yellows, and then calms down to greens and blues and purples, and speeds back up to the reds after that.

Do you have a favorite song?

That’s a hard question. My favorite piece I played with the orchestra was the fourth movement of Dvorak’s New World Symphony. I generally love pieces that have different parts, like some are exciting and energetic while some are emotional, and it really lets you add your feelings to the piece.

What are your passions?

I think my music definitely is a passion, I’m involved in a few community groups outside of school. I would like to find a few other opportunities within the community to get involved in politics as well. I am in Lawrence Academy Wind Ensemble; it’s a high school group and kids all over the area come and play and we meet once a week on Monday nights for a few months and then we have a concert. I’m in the Fox Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra as a horn player too. We meet on Sunday nights once a week and have concerts.

Will you audition for a place in the pit for North’s musical this year?

Yeah, I’m hoping to get into pit as a piano player.

Do you know what you might want to do in solo and ensemble this year?

For piano, I’m thinking about doing a Mozart piano sonata. For horn, I’m doing Morceau de Concert and a duet, at least so far.

On humanity and passion:

Do you have anyone, related to you or otherwise, that you look up to for any sort of inspiration?

“I am inspired by Hillary Rodham Clinton, because she has become such a role model to me over the last year or so. She holds strong to her opinions whether or not people feel the same way as her. I also aspire to be as confident in myself as she is in herself.”

Do you think it’s more important to be intelligent or kind?

I dunno. I think it’s more important to be kind to people. Sometimes I feel like people with higher education use that as something they have over other people which I don’t think is fair, because some people may not have had the ability to go to college or to further their education. So I think being kind is more important, though intelligence gets you very far in life. Respecting people and their cultures is very important.

If there was advice you would give your younger self, what would it be?

“If I could tell the younger me something, I think it would be to not be afraid to be different. It is a waste of time being worried about what other people think all of the time, so you should just be bold and don’t be afraid to voice your opinions, no matter what the majority of people say.”

Do you view yourself as an activist, even only in beliefs? If so, what for?

“I believe I am an activist for women’s rights. However, I would like to be more actively involved. Girls and women’s education is extremely important to me because I believe that education will help women become more equal.”

What do you deem basic human rights to be?

I think basic human rights are just being treated equally and paid the same no matter your gender or your race, being able to get married to whoever you want to, being able to practice any religion you want to without being persecuted.

Do you think many people fear the dark because it contains the unknown?

I think so. I think some people are afraid of trying new things and experiencing new things because they’re afraid they may not like it or it’s totally different than what they’re used to and I think it’s important to stay open-minded and try new things you may not have done before.

Is there anything currently holding you back from pursuing your passions?

I think sometimes being a female brass player is sometimes hard, a little bit harder than males might have it, because some people think that girls may not be as talented or able to do the things a male brass player could, when really, they can.

Nicole Bezzela is not just a student. She isn’t just a musician, an activist, a believer in equality. She’s a human.