My Favorite Thing Is…

By Kabir Samsi

My Favorite Things Is…  features anything or anyone an Alsioner has been enamored of for the longest time and with the most pulse-pounding passion.  The writers  herein would not only have to explain their magnificent obsession but depict it in their own inimitable way.

If somebody were to ask me what I think a defining characteristic of myself is, I would probably mention music. Music has been something that I have learned and been interested in for more than half of my life. Music has defined a lot of the choices I have made and the situations I’ve experienced.

I started my journey with music when I took up piano at the age of six. At first, I wasn’t sure about it and was wondering if playing would become one of many things which I would try and drop. However, I soon found that it was something that meant a lot more to me than just a class, and this feeling was not specific to piano, but applied to music in general. Once I took up the violin, this guaranteed that music would become something I would do for the rest of my life.

Another factor which really shaped my experience with music were my performances. At first, the only events at which I would play would be the recitals organized by my teachers. But as I grew more advanced, I began to play at some competitions and participate in music groups. This was a whole new experience—playing music where I was not the only one performing. It was a valuable as well as a fun way to learn more about music and make new friends. Experimenting in new fields like this also led me to try and take up new instruments and, in the last three or four years, I have self-taught myself the guitar and ukulele. I’ve even taken it one step further and started to compose music as well.

I would say that one of my greatest achievements in music is when I participated in a national competition, the USOMC [the United States Open Music Competition], and actually managed to get 4th place amidst people who were obviously a lot more skilled. I did not take this, however, as an indicator of my skill, because I know that without the practice I did and all the training and yelling from my teacher, it was unlikely that I would have ever gotten there. But achieving this taught me that in anything, including music, practice will give great results.

Today, although I am in ninth grade and focused on preparing for the Early College, I still try to make music an important part of me and what I do. I have now reached an advanced level of music practice, which makes it harder. I will not deny that at many times I dislike it entirely. That is true for anything that one takes up when you get to a high enough level; the fun goes away to some extent, and it becomes a chore. Whether you abandon it or stick with it is an indicator of your devotion and how serious you are about it, and while it may be annoying at times, I think that if you truly think something is important to you, you will stick with it no matter what.