Showing posts with label Gifts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gifts. Show all posts
Monday, November 19, 2012
30 Days of Gratitude: Day 19
As I posted today on Facebook, I need to refocus my trust in God to provide what we truly need, so I think it is time to start up some thankful posting.
Today, I am thankful for being respected as a musician, teacher, and advocate for the arts. What a blessing and a dream fulfilled to be doing exactly what I'm meant to do and earning the respect of my colleagues in the process.
I have known since the age of sixteen that I want to be a professional musician and music teacher. I have worked tirelessly for the past twenty years to make this dream a reality.
When I was in high school, I poured myself into my music and schoolwork as a means to garner recognition, awards, and scholarships. I was determined to see that I "got out" of West Virginia and made something of myself. As time passed and I gained more and more recognition on the national level, I realized how much my music was a part of who I was, a part of my very soul. There really was no other career path for me. I was meant to be a musician and a music teacher. That is just who I am.
Following graduation from college, I moved to Minnesota to begin my new life with The Boy. When I moved to Minnesota, I knew no one other than my then-fiancé. After working in the engineering and mathematics fields for the first 15 months, I was absolutely miserable. Granted, I loved teaching College Algebra at the University of Minnesota, but it still left a bit of a hole. I will not even go into the horrible experience I had with civil engineering and how depressing I found it as a career. Suffice to say that civil engineering is definitely not the creative outlet I need.
While a newlywed and freshly pregnant (my honeymoon souvenir), I began to seek out new opportunities with my music. There is a fantastic music store in the Twin Cities that hired me to teach beginning clarinet and saxophone lessons for them, and my studio began to bloom. I became bolder in my self-promotion, and my friends and colleagues suggested me to many schools as a teacher. Before I knew it, I found myself with a clarinet studio of 30 students per week and a waiting list. What a huge blessing. Performance opportunities were always available to me, as well, but my mainstay was my teaching studio.
It was quite difficult for me to leave behind the business I had spent cultivating for ten of my eleven years in Minnesota, but I was able to suggest replacement teachers with confidence. I have begun this process anew in Maryland, and I am feeling much more confident in my ability to build another successful studio. I have been welcomed with open arms by the county school system here, and it has given me renewed hope for future success. While I know it will take time to build another program, I know that God is with me every step of the way. He has lead me to so many incredible music educators already.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
30 Days of Gratitude: Day 17
As I posted today on Facebook, I need to refocus my trust in God to provide what we truly need, so I think it is time to start up some thankful posting.
Today, I am thankful for all the kind encouragement I get from my wonderful friends and family. You have no idea how happy it makes me that someone else can see and appreciate the art I cook up in my head. Thank you!
Today, I am thankful for all the kind encouragement I get from my wonderful friends and family. You have no idea how happy it makes me that someone else can see and appreciate the art I cook up in my head. Thank you!
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
30 Days of Gratitude: Day 7
As I posted today on Facebook, I need to refocus my trust in God to provide what we truly need, so I think it is time to start up some thankful posting.
Today, I am thankful for new opportunities and the support of colleagues.
I have been struggling a lot with the direction of my future once the end of August arrives. What is so special about the end of August? My baby will enter kindergarten, and I will no longer be a stay-at-home-mom. At that point, I have no reason to stay at home any longer. Yes, I know I could volunteer at school, clean my house even more, etc., but that is just not enough for me. In fact, the majority of my closest friends were blown away by my decision to stay at home with my children in the very beginning, eleven years ago. It was, and still is, the very best choice for my four daughters, and I do not regret making such a choice. But it was still a surprising choice given my level of ambition and talent.
These questions and more have been flooding my head for months now. Once the news about all these orchestras being frozen out by their management started multiplying, panic set in. As a professional clarinetist, what prospects are left for my future? Am I going to have to seek employment in Europe, where audiences still flock to orchestra concerts? WIll I be able to find a job as a clarinet professor? Is my profession on the wane? With the rise in insipid, sophomoric popular music, is it still possible for the general public to enjoy music with real content in today's world? I wish I knew the answers.
In an effort to feel more included at the girls' new school and cultivate more connections to the music community in our school district, I began volunteering every Wednesday morning in the music room. What a blessing that has been! I cannot begin to say enough good things about the general music teacher and her Recorder Karate program. These third graders are playing recorder, including traditional American hymns and folk music, and LOVING it. I mean, LOVING it. These fine young musicians work so hard every week to impress both me and their teacher with their progress.
This leads me to my reason for gratitude for today. Alison, the general music teacher, asked me if I would consider teaching for our school district. She said that I would make a fantastic addition to the program, and she knows that I would have the full support of several teachers. That really made me think about my future and an option I had eliminated when I was eighteen. As a freshman in undergraduate studies, I ruled out a degree in music education simply because of the marching band requirement. The marching band practices conflicted with orchestra, and I was the only freshman clarinet player in orchestra. I could not skip out on the type of playing I wanted to do for the rest of my life just to march around and play a shoddy plastic clarinet that would not be heard anyway. I am a classical, orchestral clarinet player, and field marching just is not my "thing." It never has been; it never will be. So, I opted for the bachelors program in music performance instead.
That said, I think I may truly enjoy teaching general music or beginning band. Ideally, I would love to work only with the beginner woodwind classes, but I realize this is a pipe dream. So, I find myself now re-visting a career path for which I thought I did not have the patience. I have not made up my mind as to whether or not I want to pursue this path, but to know that I have the votes of confidence from several members of the music teaching community in my school district really helps. I still do not know what my future holds, but I do know it will involve music at all times. That is just who I am. My prayers have turned more toward trusting God to know what is best for me, and I know that He alone is the one in control of where my future leads.
Today, I am thankful for new opportunities and the support of colleagues.
I have been struggling a lot with the direction of my future once the end of August arrives. What is so special about the end of August? My baby will enter kindergarten, and I will no longer be a stay-at-home-mom. At that point, I have no reason to stay at home any longer. Yes, I know I could volunteer at school, clean my house even more, etc., but that is just not enough for me. In fact, the majority of my closest friends were blown away by my decision to stay at home with my children in the very beginning, eleven years ago. It was, and still is, the very best choice for my four daughters, and I do not regret making such a choice. But it was still a surprising choice given my level of ambition and talent.
Fast forward to, say, three months ago. As my third daughter climbed up the steps of the bus for her first day of kindergarten, I suddenly realized that my days at home were numbered. What did this mean? Should I go back to school? Should I dust off that worthless piece of paper that is my civil engineering degree and go back to it (enter vomiting motions here)? Should I just continue to stay at home and practice my face off every day in order to get a playing job in a symphony?
These questions and more have been flooding my head for months now. Once the news about all these orchestras being frozen out by their management started multiplying, panic set in. As a professional clarinetist, what prospects are left for my future? Am I going to have to seek employment in Europe, where audiences still flock to orchestra concerts? WIll I be able to find a job as a clarinet professor? Is my profession on the wane? With the rise in insipid, sophomoric popular music, is it still possible for the general public to enjoy music with real content in today's world? I wish I knew the answers.
In an effort to feel more included at the girls' new school and cultivate more connections to the music community in our school district, I began volunteering every Wednesday morning in the music room. What a blessing that has been! I cannot begin to say enough good things about the general music teacher and her Recorder Karate program. These third graders are playing recorder, including traditional American hymns and folk music, and LOVING it. I mean, LOVING it. These fine young musicians work so hard every week to impress both me and their teacher with their progress.
This leads me to my reason for gratitude for today. Alison, the general music teacher, asked me if I would consider teaching for our school district. She said that I would make a fantastic addition to the program, and she knows that I would have the full support of several teachers. That really made me think about my future and an option I had eliminated when I was eighteen. As a freshman in undergraduate studies, I ruled out a degree in music education simply because of the marching band requirement. The marching band practices conflicted with orchestra, and I was the only freshman clarinet player in orchestra. I could not skip out on the type of playing I wanted to do for the rest of my life just to march around and play a shoddy plastic clarinet that would not be heard anyway. I am a classical, orchestral clarinet player, and field marching just is not my "thing." It never has been; it never will be. So, I opted for the bachelors program in music performance instead.
That said, I think I may truly enjoy teaching general music or beginning band. Ideally, I would love to work only with the beginner woodwind classes, but I realize this is a pipe dream. So, I find myself now re-visting a career path for which I thought I did not have the patience. I have not made up my mind as to whether or not I want to pursue this path, but to know that I have the votes of confidence from several members of the music teaching community in my school district really helps. I still do not know what my future holds, but I do know it will involve music at all times. That is just who I am. My prayers have turned more toward trusting God to know what is best for me, and I know that He alone is the one in control of where my future leads.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
30 Days of Gratitude: Day 6
As I posted today on Facebook, I need to refocus my trust in God to provide what we truly need, so I think it is time to start up some thankful posting.
Today, I am thankful for the generosity of strangers. I was given some free alpaca merino wool in my favorite color from an incredible company, Shibui Knits, after commenting on their Ravelry page that I fell in love with their merino worsted yarn just before they discontinued it. As in, I did not know it was discontinued until I went back to buy more less than a week after I bought the first skein.
Today, Shibui posted a link to a free pattern on their Facebook page. It happens to be for a gorgeous cowl in the exact color and yarn that they sent me to try for free. What a blessing! I am so in love with this pattern, and I cannot wait to make one for myself. Thank you, Shibui Knits, for being a stand-up company that really aims to please its customers.
Today, I am thankful for the generosity of strangers. I was given some free alpaca merino wool in my favorite color from an incredible company, Shibui Knits, after commenting on their Ravelry page that I fell in love with their merino worsted yarn just before they discontinued it. As in, I did not know it was discontinued until I went back to buy more less than a week after I bought the first skein.
Today, Shibui posted a link to a free pattern on their Facebook page. It happens to be for a gorgeous cowl in the exact color and yarn that they sent me to try for free. What a blessing! I am so in love with this pattern, and I cannot wait to make one for myself. Thank you, Shibui Knits, for being a stand-up company that really aims to please its customers.
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| http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/ma1 |
Saturday, November 3, 2012
30 Days of Gratitude: Day 3
As I posted today on Facebook, I need to refocus my trust in God to provide what we truly need, so I think it is time to start up some thankful posting.
Today, I am thankful for knitting. It brings me so much joy, because nearly every item I knit is a gift for someone. Giving just makes me so happy.
My wonderful mother-in-law taught me how to cast on, make a knit stitch, and make a purl stitch in February of 2006. By the time I was put on bed rest with my third daughter in June 2006, I had surpassed Margaret's level of expertise. That is how much I loved, and still love, knitting.
Before I knew it, I was knitting hats, mittens, scarves, sweaters, and afghans. Since then, I have branched out into my own patterns, learned to crochet, and started exploring alternative knitting methods (cabling without a needle, continental versus English hold, etc.). My Ravelry queue is so packed that I will have knitting projects to keep me busy well beyond the zombie apocalypse.
The most beautiful part: nearly every project I make is a gift for someone. When the recipient opens his/her gift and lights up in delight, I cannot even begin to describe the overwhelming sense of joy I feel. Joy in his/her delight, joy in my craftsmanship, joy in absolute appreciation, and joy in knowing that I have done something to bring him/her happiness.
Today, I am thankful for knitting. It brings me so much joy, because nearly every item I knit is a gift for someone. Giving just makes me so happy.
Before I knew it, I was knitting hats, mittens, scarves, sweaters, and afghans. Since then, I have branched out into my own patterns, learned to crochet, and started exploring alternative knitting methods (cabling without a needle, continental versus English hold, etc.). My Ravelry queue is so packed that I will have knitting projects to keep me busy well beyond the zombie apocalypse.
The most beautiful part: nearly every project I make is a gift for someone. When the recipient opens his/her gift and lights up in delight, I cannot even begin to describe the overwhelming sense of joy I feel. Joy in his/her delight, joy in my craftsmanship, joy in absolute appreciation, and joy in knowing that I have done something to bring him/her happiness.
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