A couple months ago, me and my NEHS (National Elementary Honor Society) group in fifth grade went to a place called Aston Gardens to volunteer and entertain the senior citizens. Before this, I really wanted to volunteer whenever I wanted, but the people there say that I’m too young. However, at the end of the NEHS volunteering session in fifth grade, the manager of Aston Gardens asked if someone could play the piano, so I stood up and played a song that I learned on my own, and the manager liked it so much that she lets me volunteer any time now, despite my age. If I hadn’t started learning piano, I never would have had this wonderful experience.

I started learning piano with Mr. Trevor when I was five years old, quickly and easily climbing up the musical ladder and enjoying lessons for five years since then. Unfortunately, though, he retired about one year ago, so I had to take lessons with a new teacher. Mr. Trevor put me with Mr. Hanspeter because he says I’m a gifted student, and it turns out, he made a great choice! With Mr. Hanspeter as my new teacher, learning piano has become a pure enjoyment, especially because he helped me get across my plateau stage and now, I really love playing the piano. It has improved my sense of creativity, created discipline, and enhanced my self-expression. It has also given me many more opportunities, one of which, since Mr. Hanspeter has gotten me familiar with my creativity, I decided to learn singing with Ms. Kelsey, which also turned out to be a rising sun overall.

Becoming a musician has served me well in chorus from third through fifth grade, recitals, volunteering, and band. But all this is only possible thanks to Mr. Hanspeter’s focused, talented mind and great guidance throughout my musical journey, and I am grateful and excited to carry music with me into the future.