My Writing Territories

Fears: Being kidnapped (I blame the movie Taken)

Annoyances: People who constantly change

Accomplishments: Hiking the Blueberry Trail

Confusions: Toddlers and Tiaras

Sorrows: This past summer

Dreams: Travel around country & world

Idiosyncrasies: Procrastination

Risks: Breaking the rules

Beloved possessions, now and then: Family photo albums, harbor seal

Problems: Playing piano

Even though I have been playing piano since the age of four, I am still not very good at it. It frustrates me on pretty much a weekly basis because no matter how hard I try, I never seem to get any better at it. You would think that by now I would have quit, but this is one of those things that I’m determined to learn. I know if I quit now, I will be disappointed with myself later. My grandfather used to play with me when I was really young, but when I was six, he passed away and some part of me felt like I had to continue playing to keep the tradition going. Even though that was 10 years ago this month, it still is very important to me to continue improving my skills. Here is the problem: something with the whole right and left hands working independently at different speeds and melodies has never really come easy for me. I am right-handed, but my teacher claims I play like a left-handed player. However, the worst part of this problem is when you see a kid half your age play something you’ve been working on with no problems. Normally, I would say that it’s my teacher’s fault for not pushing me to improve (which is partially true), but the majority of the problem has come from my lack of real commitment to practicing. I just get so busy during the week that practicing piano takes a back seat to other priorities. The one saving quality of my piano lessons is the amount of music theory and history that I know. I would probably be a better composer than performer. Also, my knowledge of the piano has helped me immensely in orchestra when playing the violin. I’m thankful that my parents have encouraged me to keep playing over the years; I just wish I was better at it than I am.