When I was five or maybe six, my parents had already planned well for my future. They sent me to learn traditional Chinese painting, and I dropped the class only two weeks later. Later, she sent me to learn taekwondo. However, I was freaking out after I saw people doing the splits. WU. That was painful so I dropped the taekwondo. Life is full of unexpected things. I would never have believed that I could have kept learning piano for over ten years.
I touched the piano for the first time and had never seen such a big instrument before. When I open the lid of the keyboard, I smelt an ancient aroma of wood which was attractive to me.
Same as when I learned others skills, I almost gave up. The reason why I kept learning piano was the company of my mom. I practiced the piano every day after class and even during the lunch break. I remember the first piano book I played was “Hanon”. It was a thick book with a brown cover. Since it was a practice book, the songs were clumsy. Every day I played and listened to the terrible songs I made, I started to hate it. I was very edgy during that time and wanted to play melodic songs instead of bad etudes. One day I was so angry that I suddenly stood up in class and tore the music sheet in front of my mother and teacher and went out of the room. The next few days I didn’t go to class again. The third day after that, I sat by my piano and saw a new book on the shelf. While I decided to throw the book away, I saw the book is the one that I dream to play. I opened the book with excitement and soon I was shocked by the complex music sheet. I couldn’t even read it. I sat on the chair for a long time. As a six-year-old child, I didn’t understand much about the great truths. However, when I saw the complex music sheet which I could not even read, I realized the necessity of practice. Learning a new thing is hard, especially at the beginning when we’re likely to struggle and make mistakes, and this is why every professional piano player had a hard time to succeed. Then, I went back to the class the day after that, and I was too ashamed to look straight into my teacher’s eyes. During the class, I knew my fingers were playing the song which caused me nausea, but I didn’t complain. For the rest of the year, I kept practicing the songs with boring melody, but my skills gradually improved.
Last summer, I came back to my city and helped my family move houses. I found my old piano and sat on the chair again. The old memories came back to my mind like a raging river. I found the book which I played before and started to play it. I realized I can play it very well and I was satisfied with my achievement. I truly understand why practice is necessary. It is something that can help us strive to achieve the goals that we have set for ourselves. Actions must match one’s desires. I wouldn’t have become so good at the piano without many years’ practicing. At last, the most important thing I want to say is: Do not give up your dreams because of laziness and unrealistic fantasy.