From the first beat, Sophie Sanders has been in love with the drums. 

At age 11, Sanders was in the middle of guitar practice at Damm Music Center when she was drawn to the drum set in the back. During break, she sat on the seat, picked up the Vic Firth 5A drum sticks and started to mess around on the drums. 

“It just seemed to flow naturally,” Sanders says. “It felt right.”

When Sanders was playing the guitar, she didn’t get the same feeling that she got from the drums. She didn’t get the same satisfaction as when she grabs her favorite sticks, takes a place at her stool and dives into music created by the lead singer.

“It didn’t feel right, like I wasn’t in my own skin or something.” says Sanders. “When I played the drums, I was happy. Happier than I was when I played the guitar anyways.”

Playing the drums has helped Sanders through tough times. Sanders uses drums as an escape, as something to “get lost” in and take her focus to a happier place.

“ They make things a lot easier for me,” said Sanders. “Drums are as much a hobby, as a coping skill. They help me to just, get lost I guess you could say. When I and playing the drums, the rest of the world just kinda goes away and I’m pulled in. I love it.”

In middle school at Maize South, Sanders played the drums in all of the talent shows by herself on the stage. Each time she performed, she needed backup drum sticks to replace the sticks that she would often snap.

“The funny thing is, when I play the drums in talent shows, I always break the drum sticks,” says Sanders. “I have to have multiple backup sticks next to me so that I can keep playing. I go crazy and they all just break.”

Sanders doesn’t know what she would do without the drums. For her, she uses the instrument as a release and can block out any of her daily worries and struggles. 

“My favorite thing to do is play the drums. When I play, or listen to drums, I’m just in my own world, and it’s a happy one,” said Sanders. “Without the drums, I don’t know what I’d do.”