The Power of Perseverance–by Sidsie Vaughn

Sometimes life is hard, and that’s a fact. We are often faced with situations and tasks that we really don’t want to deal with. So what are we supposed to do with these hard times? I often have the temptation to quit or to take it easy for a while. But that would defeat the purpose of trials. I believe that trials are something that make us stronger as individuals, families, and even as musicians, if we have the discipline to overcome them.

When I was younger I had a hard time with practicing the piano, as I think every child does. I wasn’t a fan of the drills or learning the notes or the hard work that it took. But I am so thankful to my parents for helping me stick to it and for inspiring me to keep going, even though it wasn’t the most fun thing I could be doing at that time. I learned to enjoy piano a little more. It was more than just the grueling hours spent at the piano or sitting down with the theory book. It was being able to work hard and stick with something difficult until I was able to accomplish the task.

After a while of exercising this character-building discipline, I was able to understand how piano is an art and a beautiful thing. It’s not just because of the beautiful sounds that I could create with the keys, but also because of the time and pain it took to get there. I have come to learn that piano isn’t the only thing that brings great rewards after a lot of perseverance, but most everything in life follows this same pattern. Let’s all try a little harder and stick to it! We’ve got this.

Sidsie Vaughn has just joined us as a teacher at the Utah Piano Conservatory!