Life lessons from playing the violin

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hey

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[Laughter]

hey

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[Applause]

hey

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hmm

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uh

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the song i just performed is titled

meditation

it is a symphonic intermezzo from the

opera tais

by the french composer jules massenet

it is one of my favorite songs because

of the different tempos the song goes

through

which depicts varying emotions

meditation starts out softly then

gradually builds up

and becomes more animated before

returning to its original tempo

i’ve been playing the violin for 10

years now

i started when i was only 3 years old

my mom signed me up for violin classes

because it was her favorite instrument

maybe her favorite instrument but it

surely wasn’t

my favorite back then

and by the time i was six years old i

had really started to dislike playing

the violin

for one none of my friends played the

violin

i thought it’d be old-fashioned and not

popular

which is what my friends thought of me

too

secondly the songs playing on the violin

were not relevant to pop music

which was the only kind of music that i

liked

when my mom found out she signed me up

for violin camp because she thought that

i would learn better

by being in a place where there were

more people

playing the violin

the camp lasted for two weeks and at

first

i was very mad for her signing me up

not only did i have to play violin so

much more

but it’d be the only thing i could do

in the first week i found it very boring

because there was no play time and i had

to not have friends

however by the second week i made

friends

and actually started to have fun and

that was when

i began to enjoy playing the violin a

bit more

i ended up going to this camp every

summer and winter break

because i really enjoyed going there

i have learned many valuable lessons

from playing the violin

and i want to share them with you today

whether or not you play the violin or

any instrument at all

i hope these lessons mean something to

you

and that you can apply them to different

aspects

of your life

the first thing i learned was to not

give up

during my 10 years of playing the violin

i went through

many stages of indifference liking

loathing hating and finally loving the

violin again

there were countless times where i felt

like giving up

in the beginning i thought that it was

way too boring

and that no one my age was doing it

when my friends would hang out at the

mall for the park i couldn’t go with

them

because i had to be at violin practice

we had holidays they could travel far

off destinations

but i had to stay back and attend violin

camp

and now at my age a lot of my friends

get acrylics

but i can’t have long nails because i

play the piano

and the violin so i keep my nails

short so many times

for so many reasons i wanted to quit so

badly

once i even threatened to break my

violin

but i didn’t and i’m actually really

glad

that i decided to continue i thought i

would not

enjoy playing that the violin was not

for people my age

and that i would never really be good at

it

but i was wrong now i’m

so much better at playing it and not

only do i enjoy playing it so much

but i also get to play different music

including my favorite tick tock songs

at first things may not look so rosy on

the path you’re on

and it’s totally fine if sometimes you

feel unmotivated

or even tempted to quit however

that does not mean you should give up

because with a little perseverance

and determination you are short to excel

the second thing was the importance of

teamwork

it is true what they say teamwork makes

the dream work

playing the violin all these years has

taught me the value of teamwork

and i’ll share you two instances where

teamwork

is vital the first one is when you’re

playing the violin

accompanied by pianist a lot of violent

performances

are accompanied by the piano

company they produce a beautiful

and harmonic melody and usually

the piano does not follow the violin but

rather the violin

follows the piano because the rhythm

and tempo is decided by the pianist

so as a violinist you have to listen

closely

to when to start and when to stop

playing

you and the pianist need to have

chemistry to deliver a flawless

performance

which can be challenging but not

impossible

with a little bit of practice and

teamwork

the second example is when you’re

playing in an orchestra

in my first performance playing in an

orchestra

i was surprised and actually even

slightly annoyed to have to share a

stand and even a sheet of paper with

another violinist

and when i wrote on the paper sometimes

the person sitting next to me would

disagree

with what i was writing so we would have

to come

to an agreement after our conflict we

would have to discuss

and discuss right there and then until

we both agreed

also in an orchestra you definitely have

to follow the directions

of the conductor because otherwise you

won’t know when to play or what to play

without a doubt a dream performance

requires a team effort

and i had to learn how to work in a team

to succeed

the secrets to teamwork are tolerance

patience kindness among others

often our teammates will disagree with

us or even annoy us

but we must remember that in order to

move ahead

we must resolve all conflicts with

tolerance

patience and kindness

and the third and by far the most

important attribute

i learned was discipline

playing the violin or any other

instrument for that matter requires

discipline and that is why i was not too

fond of it when i was younger

because i couldn’t do all the things

that my girls

my age did i was often faced with the

difficult decisions

to choose between violent practice and

hanging out with my friends

most times i would have to choose the

violin

because i know that practice makes

perfect

i’m not perfect but i’m a lot better

than i was years ago

being disciplined also has to do a lot

with time management

especially during the time leading up to

concerts

this season typically falls during

christmas

or close to my school exams and this is

why it is so important that i manage my

time well

i plan every activity practice

sessions homework project

and study time it’s all about balancing

performing

at concerts and maintaining good grades

discipline is important in every aspects

of our lives

our careers relationships

and even personal growth

we should all be intentional about being

disciplined

when i grow up i want to study in law

and become a lawyer

this doesn’t mean i’m going to stop

playing the violin

i don’t think that you have to stop

something

you are passionate about just because

you have a career

you just have to make time for what

gives you pleasure

playing the violin is not the only thing

i do

and when i’m not practicing i like to

watch documentaries

and talk to my friends i also play the

piano and the trombone

i think extracurricular activities are

very important

and i encourage everyone to participate

in at least one

school is great but it’s not the only

thing and the only opportunity

to learn because education continues

even outside

of the classroom extracurricular

activities

make you smarter because you get to

exercise parts of your brain

that you typically won’t in the

classroom

you also learn emotional intelligence

because you get to interact with

different people in ways

that are different from how you interact

in classrooms

or when you’re with your friends and

family

you also learn teamwork and empathy

which are very important skills

you should consider learning a musical

instrument

you don’t have to start learning at a

very young age like me

you could be a teenager or even an adult

if the piano guitar or violin are not

your thing

that’s okay there are many other options

that are very cool even if they’re not

as popular

music allows yourself to express and you

can do that even better

when you know how to play an instrument

learning an instrument teaches you

patience

consistency and discipline

more importantly playing an instrument

is fun

and a great way to unwind

i’m happy that i learned to play the

violin

it has given me a lot of fulfillment and

happiness

and i’m glad that i did not give up when

things

felt difficult sometimes

difficult things need a different

strategy to overcome

i hope these lessons i have shared with

you make an impact on your life

thank you