21/06/2021
The last year and a half of piano lessons have been nothing like I could have ever expected. From teaching online and suffering through not so great wifi connections; to wearing masks at lessons and cleaning after every student; and to teaching outside and having to cancel piano lessons because of weather, it’s been a challenging time, to say the least. In fact, I was even considering not teaching piano at the start of this year with the uncertainty of COVID rules. However, I am so, so thankful that I decided to take the risk because otherwise I wouldn’t have experienced all the great moments I did this year. I’m so happy we were able to have this recital to end off the year; it was truly the most perfect way for me to say goodbye before I head off to Ontario for university in the fall.
For those of you who don’t know, I first started teaching piano when I was 13 years old. Sienna was actually my first student. To be completely honest with you, I was terrified. I had no idea what I was doing or how to teach. What I didn’t realize was that after just a few lessons, I would fall in love with teaching piano. Seeing my students each week and their improvements would often be the highlight of the day. My thoughts became consumed with what I could do to make piano lessons more fun and help each child learn even more.
They say the days go slow but the years go fast. I can say that’s definitely the case. There were some piano lessons I felt were never going to end. I would glance down at my phone and see there was STILL five more minutes left, force myself to take a deep breath, and put on a happy face for the next piece or activity. But looking back, I don’t know where the last four and half years have gone. Every one of you has improved so much, and you really have grown up right in front of me.
To all the parents: thanks so much for taking a chance on me and allowing me the opportunity to teach your child piano. Thanks for putting up with my painfully long text messages, for pushing your child to do piano, and for being here today. It truly means the world to me.
And lastly, to my students: I hope that over the last however many months or years that you have been taking piano lessons, that you have learned to love music. Thanks for putting up with me in the moments when I had no idea what I was doing. Thanks for sticking with lessons even through the times the songs felt too hard and you wanted to quit. I hope you learned not only how to play piano, but also that if you put your mind to something, you can accomplish anything. However, just know that you have all taught me way more than I ever could have taught you. I used to think that the most important thing at piano lessons and life in general, was learning the next thing and achieving the next big goal. You guys changed that for me. What made piano lessons special wasn’t how many songs we made it through or how much theory we learned, but the moments we shared. The stories about something funny that happened during the week or how our sibling was just driving us crazy lately. The laughs at every lesson. The smiles when you would accomplish what you had been working so hard for. Thank you for reminding me that music isn’t about winning awards or being the best; it’s about sharing joy and making memories.
This might be a goodbye for now. But I hope that years from now, each time you hear a piano playing, see a piece of sheet music, or play a game of Jenga, that you think about all the time we spent together. About the music we learned, the laughs we shared and the memories we made. And then, I hope you walk over to your piano and maybe play a song or two. I know I will.
Missing from the photo: Sienna, Rheyna, Rydell, Rowyn and Michelle.
