I still remember begging my parents for it. I was only six years old but I knew that it was something I wanted. The piano is such a beautiful instrument; it can produce so many complex sounds and make an audience feel a certain emotion. My parents were a little hesitant, thinking it would be money wasted and I would grow bored of it in a matter of months. However, I managed to convince them to buy me a piano and allow me to take piano lessons.
The first couple of years were great; I practiced diligently and was able to play the scales, but after a while, I began to lose interest in playing monotonous tunes such as “Twinkle Twinkle Star” or “Hot Cross Buns.” I began to practice only minimally, turning my attention to other hobbies. Luckily, my piano teacher was able to sense that I wasn’t as enthusiastic about playing as I once was. So she decided to challenge me: she handed me the sheet music for Beethoven’s “Fur Elise.” I immediately took on the challenge and became infatuated with classical music.
From that moment on, I practiced more and more and started to play music by great composers such as Chopin and Debussy. I started to strive to play increasingly difficult songs. But piano was much more than playing a song or even mastering it. It started to become a form of meditation and a way for me to express my emotions through music.
With all the stress and bustle of school and the many extracurricular activities I was involved in, I needed a way to escape, and that’s what the piano let me do. Playing the piano became a way for me to relieve stress and more importantly, it taught me how to just do instead of constantly think. The piano allowed me to clear my mind and just listen to the beautiful melodies that would flow from it. Naturally, I am someone who is very analytical; I think about pros and cons of situations and always have to lay everything out logically. But with the piano, I can just play; it balances out the highly analytical side of me.
I still continue to practice piano and it is a part of the day that I look forward to. Whenever I feel the stress of upcoming tests or anxiety, I know I can always turn to the piano for escape. I consider playing piano an important part of my life and something I hope to continue to carry with me.
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