I'm jealous of people who can keep up with their extra-curricular passions even after coming to IMSA. With all the workload, it always seems like there's "not enough time" for anything anymore, especially those that involve a significant time commitment like music or sports. I know there technically is no such thing as not having enough time, because it all depends on your priorities - if something is important enough to you, you will make time for it. So I guess for me, academics is my top priority, seeing as I almost completely gave up music just to maintain my grades. I mean, sure, I'm in the school orchestra, but that says nothing - the program here does not help me grow as a musician at all. And yes, I'm involved in a youth orchestra that has rehearsals every weekend - but that just means I go to rehearsal and learn to be a good sight-reader because I never "have time" to practice during the week. I even still take private lessons, but because I don't practice, I improve at an incredibly slow rate. So overall, my musical skills at this point are stagnating, all because I constantly blow off practice time to give myself that extra hour to work on a paper or project.
I miss those days when I practiced at least an hour and a half every day and looked forward to orchestra class and working with my chamber ensemble at school. I miss being able to impress my private lesson teacher with the progress I make every week. I miss being the best violinist in my grade level at school, despite that I only started learning in 5th grade, because I practiced so much, and I miss being a musical inspiration for others. Freshman year, I was good enough to go to IMEA All-State. But sophomore year, I apparently wasn't even good enough to make district. For some reason, coming to IMSA completely changed around my priorities, to the extent where it's okay to never practice. I remember that back then, I couldn't skip more than a day of practicing. Maybe it's because the music program no longer pushes me to work hard. Maybe the orchestra teacher at my home school was just an incredibly inspirational person and had a contagious passion for music, but here there is nothing.
I feel the same way, because when I came to IMSA, I had to give up tae kwon do and piano, because I live so far from school. I'm sure that many others here agree with you, and perhaps by adding in their opinions, this piece could be more inclusive. Perhaps more details, like an account of a a time of in which you blew off playing violin in order to work on a paper or project could make also make this more detailed.
ReplyDeleteThis relates to me so much, that it almost hurts. I'm kind of in the same Youth Orchestra as you, and I kind of practice (probably) less than you. I too remember back when I used to practice for hours a week, if not each day, and when I could learn impressive songs in a month, when today, I can't seem to even play a two octave run. I've tried to bring some of it back, but it seems that there's always too much work and not enough time. And when I do have time, I'm just too lazy. That being said, I don't know what has happened, exactly, and I don't know what to do, but seeing other people in our school, I am constantly reminded that there is hope for something to happen - I'm just not sure if it'll be with me.
ReplyDeleteThis blog post really showed an introspective side to you, and letting that out through the blog not only shows your comfortable-ness with posting, and that only makes it more relateable.
I can't say I can fully relate to this as I do not play an instrument so that area of my life has not suffered. However, everyone I know who does play an instrument and are in the orchestra or band at IMSA has said somethings similar to this. I find it rather interesting, because so many people at IMSA are musical and though the school is mainly geared towards math and science one would think that we would have a strong musical program.
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