V: “Miss JNET.....am I a decent pianist?”
Miss JNET: “What? I look forward to seeing you every week. I’m impressed by your practice and enthusiasm. Where is this coming from?”
V: “Kids at school were joking around that I’m not good at anything.”
Miss JNET: “And you believe them?”
V: “NO WAY!”
Miss JNET: “Good.”
Even though my student receives encouragement and support from her family, even though I communicate to her and her mom that she is a delight to teach, and see that she usually arrives at her piano lessons full of excitement and enthusiasm; a thorn pricked my student. At 11 years old, she knew it was nonsense teasing by boys that were probably crushing on her. She knew not to take them seriously. But she felt a tiny sting.
I was surprised by her question since she usually enters my piano room like a bright rainbow of energy. She has a maturity and self-confidence about herself that others at the music studio noticed and mentioned it
to me. But I was glad that she asked. Even strong people need backup when phantoms creep in. Her NO WAY response showed me that it wasn’t the kids that pricked her.
She found she had a delicate side.
Her mom texted me last night that she will not be at piano today. They are saying goodbye to their family cat today.
Perhaps that was the delicate part my student was wrestling with. She hadn’t mentioned her cat’s health and her question of being good enough was surprising. She’s a strong soul. We talk about super heroes. She has a way of bringing up Marvel into everything she does. I have her working on the Avengers’ Theme. And despite her strengths, she found herself feeling delicate and needed reassurance that she was okay and that life will be fine.
We all are like that sometimes.
We can be good, great, and wonderful and yet life presents bumps along the way. We trip, lose our footing, or fall flat on our faces. And though we may be strong enough to get up, we may feel a little bruised that something that usually doesn’t bother us, hurts. Even strong people need backup. Beethoven and Spider Man isn’t enough. We can’t overcome everything.
I have back up. Even though I don’t need constant validation, sometimes a kind word helps me push through a tough time. The strong people in your life appreciate your kind words. And it’s okay to not be a hero and need someone to catch you.
Whatever the voice in your head says, you have a lot of other people rooting for you.
Excelsior.
JNET