Personal Narrative: How Music Changed My Life

I have never been one to effectively communicate my feelings and emotions through spoken word. For most of my childhood, my words served as a stumbling block in my communication, which was frustrating, since spoken communication is a very prominent aspect of life. It was a rare occurrence for sound to ever escape my mouth, causing a few people to be surprised to even hear my voice. In spite of my quiet nature, I made a decision that would affect my life for the better. When I started my musical journey in the fourth grade by purchasing a used trumpet, I became immediately discouraged because - to my surprise - I could not play as well as Miles Davis or Louis Armstrong. Obviously, playing as well as some of history’s greatest musicians is no simple feat, and this idea was difficult for my naive nine year old mind to comprehend. Even so, I began the not-so-delicate process of honing my musical craft. I took lessons from the elementary school music teacher

I thought that I would at least be at the same playing level as the trumpeters in the middle school concert band, yet I couldn’t even play a basic scale! My attitude towards practicing music changed later that year when I began taking piano lessons from the woman who lived across the street from me. I was eager to begin lessons because I could not play the simplest ditty on the 66-key keyboard I received for Christmas, and the only necessary payment requested from my neighbor was simple yard work whenever needed. I fell in love instantly with playing the piano, practicing whenever I had any free time. Piano became the key that opened the lock imposed by my inability to practice and improve. Unlike trumpet, I had a hunger for learning the piano, and although my piano skills were not proficient by any means, I practiced simply because of my love for the