Teaching, graduation, life, etc.

One of the things that I love about teaching piano is that it allows me to participate in my community differently. Many of you reading are full time students and as such, I think it is easy for us to become accustomed to playing one note in the community, that of the learner. We are primarily at the tip of an upside down triangle, all the information and experience is being poured into us by our teachers who are gracious enough to interact with us. As students, it is normal and good that we are in that position of learning, just as I hope we will one day invest in others as other have invested in us.

However; even as students, it is, I believe, important to remember to teach. In the grand scheme of things, we are souls created in the image of God, beautiful and unlimited in the sense that we can always seek to love God better. Because God's love is infinite, we can always be experiencing our community in new, yet familiar and deeper ways because we do not run out of love to experience. Thus, even though I certainly know less than my teacher did at 9, I know more than the person who has never studied, and I can give that knowledge away to that person, let them love something a little more. By doing so, we enrich our community, becoming more interesting and allowing us to take our talents and approach different things, things in which we are terrible! Therein lies the excitement though because the things I am worst at are the things I have the furthest to go. Even if I never make it past page 6 of math, those 6 slow pages will be novel and challenging in ways page 209 of music may not be.

Anyways, all that to say that I think it is tempting to think of younger people as students and older people as teachers, and primarily that is true. However; in a sense, everyone is always learning and teaching and entering into that cycle deliberately. This 'entering into the community' the few times I have done it has truly enriched my understanding of the community and my appreciation for those who are more talented at giving than I am. On that note, thank you, my dear teachers. Whether it has been in Algebra, or poetry, music or laundry, I have learned things under your gentle, patient guidance that have truly enriched my soul. Thank you for letting me enter into your communities, friends and teachers, souls created by God, truly beautiful souls.