“I’m just a normal kid who loves to play the trumpet!” Fossil Ridge High School senior Miles Lujan boasts with a smile on his face. Passions are what drive us every single day. For Lujan, he has been constantly surrounded by his passion: music.

“My mom was a professional singer, dancer and actress. And my dad is a professional trumpet player,” said Lujan. Every since Lujan was young, music was a part of his everyday life. Throughout his life, he has chased his passion down. But sometimes chasing a dream is not so easy. Luckily, his parents have supported him to keep pursuing his dream.

Choosing a passion can be difficult for some, but coming from a musically inclined family, Lujan’s choice was fairly simple. “I remember in 6th grade there was a day in music class where they brought in a lot of different instruments. I played all of them and it was a blast trying to play music. I finally decided I wanted to play in the band for Junior High, That year my dad gave me a trumpet so I thought I might as well play that,” Lujan said.

At FRHS, he joined the marching band and loves that he can be a helper as well as a performer. “My favorite part about marching band is definitely helping out the other kids on how to play the trumpet! It’s a great feeling when you know you’ve helped someone,” said Lujan. In being a leader in the music world at FRHS, Lujan has an attitude that cannot be shaken. “I don’t think I have ever wanted to quit. I have always loved the challenge of getting better at something ever day!” Lujan stated.

As a young and constantly growing trumpet player, Lujan has role models that he looks up to for inspiration and encouragement. “My idols are my biggest inspiration. People like Freddie Hubbard, Terell Stafford and Greg Gisbert. Hearing them play the trumpet never ceases to amaze me and it inspires me to reach their level one day,” said Lujan, who hopes to major in Jazz Performance in college.

But there is also a future to think about. “The colleges that I would love to go to are New England Conservatory and the University of Northern Colorado,” said Lujan. People change in college and they choose different roads. Sometimes they love what they do so much that they wouldn’t know what else to do without their passion. Lujan sees that in his future, this is just the case. “Music is the only thing I see myself doing for the rest of my life,” Lujan said. “It’s what I love to do and I couldn’t live without it.”