I have never considered myself a religious person, but I have always had pressure from my family to follow in the footsteps of everyone around me: to join our neighborhood church. My mother was the head of the worship group at the church and my sister was the leader of their Bible school. Despite growing up in such a conservative family, I decided to follow my own journey of spiritual discovery.
I turned out to be the colorful sheep of the family. As a "good" teenager, I had my rebellious crises. I often dyed my hair, had my drag queen days, and hung out with friends every weekend. Oh and I also had a strong urge to get a tattoo, but my fear of needles was stronger than my rebellious behavior. Yeah, I was the little sassy boy that people would make fun of. My hometown was very hard on the local LGBTQIA+ community.
For all those reasons, I tried to stay away from toxic people who just happened to be members of the neighborhood church. This took me away from the wonderful culture of worship, including going to church and appreciating good gospel songs.
When I arrived at Tufts, I was surprised with an amazing welcoming. I knew that Tufts was one of the best schools for queer students in the U.S., but I was so used to being rejected because of my identity that the smallest demonstration of love was enough to win me over. All right, the STRUT Party is actually an extra — this is a welcome party organized by the LGBT Center, full of queer performances.
Additionally, the peculiarity of classes at Tufts had me excited. Universities don't usually advertise large class sizes, but Tufts has always taken pride in its largest course offering: the Third Day Gospel Choir. With over 220 members, it has been a campus favorite since Director David Coleman began leading the choir in 2006. This class is administered by the Department of Music and meets twice a week. There is a rehearsal with all students and a recitation with smaller groups.
Despite studying Engineering Psychology, I believe Gospel Choir has been my favorite class so far. In this class, I learned the different types of voices (soprano, alto, tenor, and bass), how they make beautiful harmonies, and how to accompany a piano. Also, I had the opportunity to perform at the Aidekman Arts Center in front of hundreds of other students.
Later, I found out that the Third Day Gospel Choir is actually a big deal. In 2016, they performed at the White House for the Obamas. Amazing, right? The group of students performed more than two hours of music featuring a variety of songs in Latin, Hebrew, Swahili, traditional English carols, and, of course, lots of gospel.
However, this class taught me more than just the fundamentals of a good musical harmony. I learned to seek a more tolerant world — to tolerate more and be tolerated. Students of various beliefs, sexualities, and gender identities take this class every year. More than an easy A — perfect attendance alone guaranteed the highest grade — Gospel Choir taught me that our differences, in fact, strengthen our group work.
In addition to being a lot of fun, this class brought me closer to my God. I haven’t gone back to church yet, but I have learned to create my own relationship with my God. I remain the colorful sheep of my family, but maybe just a little more responsible. And yes, gospel songs became an important part of my Spotify shower playlist!