The 58th Annual Grammy Awards happened on Feb. 15. For many, it's become a tradition to watch the ceremony while snuggled up with all of your sassy best friends. This year's Grammy Awards posed a much more interesting thought for me, because a certain 12-year-old Indonesian jazz piano prodigy was nominated for not one but two Grammy awards: Best Improvised Jazz Solo and Best Jazz Instrumental Album.

Joey Alexander has long been a household name in Indonesia for being an outstanding young talent in the field of jazz music. His performances at the Grammy Awards and the Grammy Premier Ceremony that took place earlier were amazing, and he was well-deservedly awarded with standing ovations. What really grabbed my attention, however, happened after the show.

While many international news websites were praising and acknowledging his talent on various social media platforms, Indonesia's very own news sites were focusing more on the fact that Joey had failed to win the Grammy awards he was nominated for. This self-deprecation is something that is understandably synonymous with many Asian cultures; but it's also something that ultimately must be addressed. It is something people blindly accept within a society without a second thought, because it is a belief that was instilled at a young age uniformly.

President of Indonesia Joko Widodo praising the efforts of a young Joey Alexander on Twitter.

I personally was very surprised at and proud of how far this young prodigy had come in the short time that I had heard about him. It is a big deal to be invited to perform on the Grammys and to be nominated for two awards.

As someone who was previously involved in music, I can definitely say that hard work is valued 100 percent over talent. It shows in his playing how much time and effort he puts into perfecting pieces. At such a young age, it is clear that he has a lot of room for improvement; but I think it is more important to consider where he has gotten himself in such a short time. The Grammys is certainly not a small stage to play on (or play in front of!), and his nervousness shows in recordings from the night. But he played extremely well, and that should be commended.

He's so aesthetic.

Comments on various social media platforms, mostly Twitter, seem to be from people in the same mindset as yours truly. Many echo the thought that he should stay in the U.S. to pursue and further study music instead of going back home to Indonesia. If he goes home, he will probably be tossed aside like yesterday's news (pun intended) or — as in the below tweet —asked to star in commercials in varying degrees of embarrassment.

Ayy lmao.

Instead of focusing on the fact that he did not win the two Grammys he was nominated for, we should recognize the fact that he has come a lot further than many others who have tried plenty of times and are much older than him.

We live in a society where the best is always expected. As someone who understands perfectly the pressure to live up to certain expectations, especially musical ones, I know how important it is to be appreciated just as much as it is to be criticized. I think that the Indonesian media has been much too harsh in covering his night at the Grammys. He has been acknowledged by many of the world's greatest jazz musicians (including some of his own idols), so he isn't being called a child prodigy for nothing.

Also, he's adorable.