6) Music

     My mom was the kind of person who believed that being able to play an instrument helped improve brain capacity. She would often say to me, "Ya know... when you practice your (insert instrument here), the rest of your homework is going to be even easier." Despite that encouragement, I hated playing the piano. I loved my teachers and I loved going to my weekly lesson. However, when I arrived home I would lose all motivation to practice daily. I don't think I ever practiced consistently.
Now, mind you, I have played the piano for a solid 10 years. My masterpiece, the crescendo of my piano playing career, is that I still remember how to play Hot Cross Buns - whatever that title even means.
     I often got asked by people whom I had just met if I played any instruments. I would casually respond, "Oh yeah, I guess. I've been playing the piano since I was 6. But you wouldn't be able to tell cause I suck at it!" It was horrific. If you got me to do anything else for 10 years (basketball, cooking, homework, etc.) I, I might have been a child prodigy. But alas, when I was 17, I ended my measly, average piano career and tried voice lessons.
     My last piano teacher is actually a professor at Delta so that was pretty cool. He was super funny and chill. I got along with him and looked forward to seeing him every week. I was a little sad to switch to voice lessons, but my new voice teacher was my piano teacher's wife! I still got to see him quite a bit, which was fantabulous. Anyways, voice lessons only happened around 7 times. I remember thinking, "I know that breathing is important, but - uuuhhhh - when do we get to the vocals?" Overall, I was pretty average there too.
    It wasn't until this last summer that I found an instrument that struck me like a chord (see what I did there?). I had a ton of free time, and I was looking for something fairly productive to do with my life. That is when I remembered that a close friend had given me her guitar 3 years ago! When I first received it, I had my brother teach me a really basic song, so I could at least pretend like I knew what I was doing. I lost interest, though, when my fingers started to hurt and I couldn't learn anything else on my own. Now, back to this past summer. I picked up the guitar and started looking on youtube to find some basic chords. I memorized finger shapes, strumming patterns, chord progressions, and a lot of other minuscule but necessary skills. I started writing my own songs. When I started to do that, everything just clicked for me. I won't say I am the best, cause, heck, I'm still pretty awful at it, but I can make some good music. I've built up the calluses and put in the time, and it has paid off. I love playing the guitar, unlike any other instrument I have tried before. It clicks with my soul in a way that no other instrument has. I often hear a song on the radio and then as soon as I get home, I look up how to play it on the guitar. I just love it!
    Luckily, I found an instrument I am decent at. The guitar is wonderful, but I spent 10ish years being awful at other instruments, so it balances out in my opinion. Perhaps, I'll become more than just an average guitar player, but for the moment, I am content.