Happy Teacher

I'm gonna be real honest: this week has been absolute crap. After a super awesome weekend spent praising Jesus, meeting new people, and hearing an incredible speaker talk about justice and love under a just and loving God, I emerge into the week feeling stressed about being gone all weekend, but overall pretty good about life and the successful concert that I got the opportunity to perform in. And then Tuesday happened.

I am not ready to address the election results on Odyssey quite yet -- I am still too angry, scared, frustrated, and confused to write about it in any detail. With that said, I have found something in the midst of all this negativity this past week that has brightened my week in a big huge way: teaching.

Last year, my first year at college, I went through many struggles, adjustments, and changes. One of those things was giving up all the students that I had taught piano and violin to back in my hometown. I loved teaching, especially the students that I taught back home, because of the variety of levels and ages that I was able to share music with. As they learned more about their instrument and increased their playing skills and abilities, I learned how to become a better teacher to a variety of ages, and how to, even on really hard days, stay positive and be a positive influence to my students. And you know what? Usually after I "faked it till I made it" I actually felt way better and more positive because of all that the student and I had just accomplished, despite my sour mood.

Recently, a friend who I didn't really know very well from my Bible study group mentioned that she had taken violin lessons for several years a while ago, and was wondering if she should start it back up again. Jokingly, I mentioned that I had taught lessons before and would be happy to teach her. Today she had her very first lesson with me, and I got to TEACH again. It was awesome. I could barely contain my excitement -- in fact, I would actually say that I very well failed miserably to contain my excitement at all. I got to share my love and joy of music with another human being and it felt freaking awesome. I hope she doesn't think I'm this crazy insane musician with way too much energy because that is most likely how I came across.

To do my small part in making someone's day better, with or without music, felt great after a week of being upset, depressed, and angry. Before I got to PLU I never actually saw a future for me as a musician, because I knew that I didn't work very hard at getting better and it seemed like so many people around me were so much better, so I had the attitude of kind of "why bother?" you know? But being a musician is SO much more than being the best performer out there. There is so much more that can be accomplished, and so much more that I have yet to explore in how I can use music to change the world, even if it is in my own small way. Now go listen to some Mozart or Beethoven, and have a great day!