The first time I felt different
Sometimes, only a simple remark from others is enough to change the way people think about themselves.
This story happened last year, when I was thirteen years old. At that time, I was a self-abased and an introverted person that I could not get on well with my classmates. Compared with me, most of my classmates were doing well in exams. Nevertheless, some of them were competitive in playing different kinds of music instruments. I always thought that I was useless as I was not good at studying and that I wasn’t outstanding in any field. I did nothing well. Therefore, to boost my confidence, I decided to find something that I was interested in and tried to work on it.
I love listening to music. I found forming a band was cool since I was in primary school. For me, bass guitar is the most interesting instrument. Consequently, I planned to learn playing the bass guitar.
At the very beginning, it was so difficult for me to move all the fingers at the same time. Therefore, I couldn’t even complete a simple song after the first lesson. I attributed my incompetence in playing bass guitar to my disadvantage—— my short fingers. But I was accidentally proven to be wrong afterwards. When I surfed on the Internet, I randomly came across to a video clip, which was a nine-year-old boy playing bass guitar. I was shocked that he could play many songs. Meanwhile, I hadn’t even acquired any basic technique. I realized that it is not the matter of the size of my hands. It is about how much effort I put into it.
As the saying goes, “practice makes perfect.” I was then inspired by it and worked even harder and harder on playing the bass guitar. Despite much effort put into it, I could hardly notice any improvement. I was confused and frustrated. I didn’t know where it went wrong. I was afraid that my teacher would criticise me for not having any improvement.
As time went on, it was the second bass guitar lesson. I went into the music institute with fear. I showed what I had practiced to my teacher. I was ready to hear criticism from him.
Unexpectedly, what I heard was the teacher’s appreciation and encouragement. “Wow… I know you have practiced hard as you have done a very good job! I can’t believe that you have only learnt it for two weeks. Although you are just a beginner, you can already play a song! You nail it completely! Don’t be too self-critical, you are the first person who has made such rapid progress that I have ever seen,” he told me with a big smile on his face.
At that moment, I was surprised that there is someone in the world think I am hardworking and capable instead of useless and stupid. I was so happy to receive my teacher’s praise. It was just like I found the light at the end of the tunnel. I finally got something I am good at. I believe that I can do it better than others. Everyone has his or her own strength and weakness because we are all different from the others. Without a doubt, I am different from the others too!
After this event, I have learnt that my strength might not be studying or making friends. But I’m a total music lover and I am willing to practise hard to make my performance awesome!
At the end of the day, I have learnt that we should not be self-abased, and we should be proud of what we have achieved.