When I was six, the only thing I asked for in my letter to Santa was piano lessons. I guess I got what I thought I wanted. Not long after I started lessons I started to resent piano. It wasn’t that I disliked piano itself, it was that I disliked the idea of sitting on a piano bench for 30 minutes everyday to practice songs like hot cross buns, because I was still just a beginner.  The thought of that was just simply too much for my elementary school mind. Since then I have grown to love playing piano. I believe that playing piano builds character.

I believe in the discipline it takes to spend months at the piano learning and perfecting a piece. It’s frustrating to play the same song over and over. Not only does it become redundant, but it’s annoying to miss the notes that I got right the previous time through. I have had times where my recital is only a couple of weeks away and the songs that I had been working on for months still were not up to par. It takes discipline to focus on mastering a song until I’m proud of it.

I believe in being proud of what I do. When I walk up to a piano to perform my piece I want the time and effort that I’ve put into the song to show for itself. When I finish playing, I want to feel deserving of the audience’s applause. I want to be proud of everything I do in piano because I know that mindset will translate to other aspects of my life.

Playing the piano is a part of who I am. When I begged for piano lessons in Kindergarten, I also unknowingly asked for something that would help to shape me. I believe in piano because it has taught me discipline, focus, commitment, determination, and pride.