Today

good afternoon! today i was teaching my second day of piano lessons and i realized how much i need to get into character. see, in life you need to be some sort of character in every situation. i think deciding who you are and where you stand in every situation helps you find out who you'll become and i love theater so anytime i can act, i will; of course in good intention and honesty. not to mention building character. but this is different. for instance, this afternoon i realized that i could be more of a piano teacher if i gathered some props. see, i took piano in first grade and i loved it because yes, you guessed it; my teacher was such a character! come with me as i describe her and...pardon a little exaggeration but i think it's necessary. she has the goofiest poofiest white cloud of hair that could be mistaken for cotton candy. it was always styled the same way. maybe one fine day a handsome fellow complimented her and her hair has insisted upon never changing it's style. she had the reddest lipstick that always managed to sneak up on her teeth as if it was it's goal in life. She even had the strong perfume that smelled up the whole room and made it hard to breath, and hard to forget. I loved the way she taught though because she made me think that i was going to be Mozart or at least some sort of Schroeder (that little piano boy in Charles Schultz's Peanuts, Snoopy.. such a jazzy cartoon that's why it's my favorite. this sounds like the next blog topic.)

but back to my piano teacher; she was just marvelous. She knew how to be a character. It's almost as if she decided that her goal in life was to be a piano teacher and to receive every pin of a piano and apple for her sweater sets. now there's nothing wrong with this but me; jack of all trades master of none... i just don't see the point in only one passion. other than Jesus that is. oh gosh but she even had a special pointer stick to follow each note on the page. it probably had her initials on it. either way it made each and every note she pointed to seem like royalty, dainty, and unique. oh and the stickers! other than my trip to the best snack machine ever (always against my mother's rules) the stickers were my favorite part of piano. i remember i had this strange obsession with cats and Elvis Presley. I was ashamed to tell her of my long lost lover so all of my mastered pieces including the ever so complicated "Three Blind Mice," and hits like "Hot Cross Buns" were topped off with a cat sticker. Rarr!!

i loved music because of her but i hated it also because i had such an ear for the songs that the theory was frightening. now, i'm suffering the consequences as the only Junior in a Freshman theory class. oh it's wonderful learning the theory of music instead of simply the art though. to every art there is a theory. if you don't know the theory then you'll never be a true artist of the art. again, this sounds like another blog topic. in conclusion, i say all of this to tell you that i will now be acquiring a collection of only Elvis and kitty cat stickers for my little piano students. maybe i'll even splurge on a few "Excellete" or "Cool Beans!" stickers like the ones you 5th grade teacher gave you when you were too cool for school. oh i can't wait. i'll keep you posted about the strong perfume and poofy hair. but Christmas is right around the corner... and i'm shy on my teacherish apple piano pins for my sweaters!

Praise God