Senior and National Guardsman Alexander Hardy showcased his hard work by playing the National Anthem on his electric guitar at the Jan. 25, home wrestling meet. 

This was Hardy’s first time soloing the National Anthem in front of a crowd. Hardy shared, “I liked it, but it was scary because of all the people that were there.” Hardy was sick the week he was supposed to play so he didn’t have a lot of time to practice and prepare for his performance. He commented, “I was sick so I wasn’t at school. So two days before I had to play, I started practicing and memorizing. So it wasn’t a lot of time, but it was enough.”

Since this was Hardy’s first time performing solo in front of a larger audience he was nervous. “Was I nervous? Yes, a little. When Mr. Mac introduced me, he said I was a guardsman which made me feel like it was more important and made me feel like I was playing for the guard so I had to do my very best.”

Hardy commented, “Would I want to perform like that again? Yes, I had the opportunity to play again this year, but I’ll be going out of town so I can’t. I want to do it again and redeem myself a little bit. I want it to sound better to me. It didn’t sound like I wanted it to last time.”

Hardy has been playing for quite some time. “I’ve been playing since third grade. My grandpa got me a guitar and I started taking lessons. Then I started to play bass and really liked it. I started to take ukulele lessons and piano lessons for a little bit. I can also play the saxophone.”

Hardy expressed, “I play because it is a way to express myself and to God. It can sometimes connect me to other people and bring them joy. Sometimes it inspires others like my sister, who now plays because of me.”

Hardy’s best friend Grant Bebow shared, “It was really cool to see Alex perform. He did really well.”