A message from a piano student made me feel like I was standing on a train platform.
Okay, let me explain.
Imagine you’re standing on a train station platform. A train has just pulled in.
You feel a menagerie of emotions.
A grandma rushes over to greet her grandkids and daughter. You feel their excitement as their week of making wholesome memories begins.
A pregnant woman staggers off. You smile as you hear her friends squeal and run up to her, exclaiming, “Look at you!”
A group of young men climb aboard, dressed up as what you assume are video game characters. You chuckle as you see one struggle through the door with his oversized hat.
But then you see a child crying and gripping her dad’s jacket. With a brave smile, the mum takes her hand and says, “He’ll be back in a couple of weeks!” Your heart hurts as you watch the dad sit by the window to wave at his daughter and wife.
Your eye then goes to a young couple hugging each other tightly, not wanting to part. You see tears streaming down the woman’s face and the man trying to console her. “I’ll be back soon.” You feel a lump in your throat as you see the woman nodding sadly, trying to smile through her tears.
In just a few minutes, you felt happiness. Excitement. Amusement. Sadness. Heart break. Longing.
That’s how it felt when my student messaged me to tell me she was no longer continuing with lessons.
She’d had a wonderful nine years, but she felt it was time to say goodbye and focus on her schoolwork.
I felt a pang of sadness.
I won’t get to see her continue her journey.
I won’t get to help her learn more pieces from films she loves.
We won’t get to write any more silly songs with lyrics about her current celeb crush.
But I also felt excited.
She’ll make such an excellent doctor.
I thought about all the beautiful memories we shared.
I laughed as I remembered a silly performance where we dressed up as witches.
I smiled as I thought about how far she’s come and how grateful I am to have been a part of that.
I went through a menagerie of emotions in a couple of minutes.
Just like standing on a train platform.
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