Wednesday, January 12.

Every year I have a list of things I want to do. One year, at work, I wrote out an entire page of things I wanted to do in the next 5 years. I wanted to move to California, move to Boston, work in an ICU (intensive care unit), learn piano... a whole list of things. There is a difference between wanting to do something, and actually doing it. Your desire must supersede your obstacles. One of my co-workers looked over my list and she probed a little bit about each goal. She started to ask me about the piano. I told her I used to play when I was in 2nd grade. I quit because I was too busy then, it was taking up too much of my free time. I didn't want to practice. For a long time I regretted not ever getting back into it. So, it was actually a desire for years, to learn it. She asked me two questions. 1. Are you willing to practice now? to which I said, yes. She asked me another question... Do you have a piano to practice on? a great, relevant question, to which I answered, no. Mmm... how is that going to work? A few weeks later I bought a keyboard. I ambitiously went to buy sheet music, which I soon realized, I couldn't read. Soon after purchasing the keyboard I moved to California, and I packed that keyboard into my car and brought it across the country. I never took formal lessons, but my friend taught me some chords. I would sit for hours and mess around, and although, I still have no idea what I'm doing, its one thing that continues to inspire me. When I moved home, I shipped the keyboard, but somehow, not the stand... and since I moved to our place in philly it has been collecting dust on the floor, until today,

when I decided not to let my desire to play be overcome by an obstacle, especially not by something as small as a piano stand.