RING RING! I force my eyelids open as I scan around for my phone. Vision blurry, I squint at my wall as I realize it’s in my pocket. I’ve got an alarm set at precisely 5:30 PM every day and its purpose is to remind myself that night is approaching and I should get something done. I look down at my worksheet with a maze of math equations but I step back. I step back to breathe and decide to get a glass of water. Ahhh. Exhaling after having water I turn to look at my piano. I feel a sense of encouragement as remember why I took this class. I turn around and make my way back to the homework.

Students take our future pretty seriously. We take AP classes, school clubs, club sports, internships, volunteer work, music, and some of us even have a job. Whew, I’m out of breath. We spend most of our time and our teenage years studying, to perform well at our job which is totally fine. However, we don’t spend ALL of our time dedicated to work. My passion of choice is music, more specifically piano. Music paints my life with colors as it adds life to my day. I think music is so surreal. If you watch a movie without sound or music it’s corny. Add music to it and now it’s magical and dramatic. However, having more fun in my life isn’t the biggest thing music has done for me.

To me, music was a key. A key that opened up my mind to all the opportunities that exist. In grade school, I hated practicing and cried when my mother forced me. However, I still somehow ended up skipping and jumping after my piano lesson which gave me a scar I still have on my elbow. Even though I hated practicing with a passion, I loved when I got to meet other kids. I loved the adrenaline I got when I was about to perform and loved the praise people gave me. The opportunity for happiness exists everywhere, even in the worst situations. There’s always the best move to make on the chessboard to make the best out of the worst situation. Playing music gave me joy. The lessons music gave me let me find it.

“Where there is shadow there must be light”

-Haruki Murakami