Iranian Piano Personal Statement

One of my main passions in life is music. But I haven’t always been sure that music is the right choice for me. Multiple times since I picked up a clarinet for the first time in fifth grade, I have doubted that I should continue in my school's band program. It was challenging, time consuming, and after all, I didn’t want to play clarinet in the first place. I originally wanted to play the flute, but that dream was quickly shot down during my instrument fitting. It was suggested that I try my hand at clarinet since it appeared to come more naturally to me. So after some deliberation and coaxing from my family, I took the plunge. I had no way of knowing much of an impact that small decision would eventually make on my life.

I sat and listened to the beautiful yet invigorating song being played on the piano. I reminisced about the future, when I would be able to play such a complex piece of music. Six years later I sat awaiting my turn to perform this piece of music I had so long dreamed about. I felt butterflies dancing in my stomach, but at the same time I felt a sense of peace and contentment. I played this song flawlessly and from that moment on, I knew that I wanted to use my knowledge and talent of playing the piano to change the world for the better. I desired to impact young, aspiring piano students just as the song that impacted my life so long ago. I long to do so by studying music in college and continue to teach piano.

Gradually, I lost interest in playing piano and the time that I spent on practicing was less and less, and when I was twelve years old, I gave up. I do have musical talent, good family environment, and opportunity. Nevertheless, my attitude and laziness are the causes of my failure.

For the podcast, I interviewed Lina Abdulnoor, with the intention of exploring the intricacies of refugeehood by analyzing Lina’s refugee experience. Lina lived in Iraq with her family until they began receiving death threats due to their religious beliefs. Convinced that they needed to flee the country to survive, they left Iraq as refugees. After leaving Iraq, they settled in Jordan, where they waited two years until the U.N. to approve their request to move to the U.S. in 2012. Lina and her family initially settled in Virginia, where she experienced culture shock as she adapted to American culture and the English language. However, Lina did not feel accepted in Virginia; her experiences in the state led her to think that Americans treated her according to negative stereotypes of Iraqis. After living in Virginia for several months, Lina and her family chose to resettle in San Diego, California, which harbored a larger Iraqi population than Virginia did. Supported by San Diego’s Iraqi community and various refugee organizations, Lina flourished, and she currently studies at UCSD while holding a stable job.

‘The Pianist’ is a cinematic masterpiece by the Polish director Roman Polanski. One of the key ideas that appear throughout much of the film is that of ‘hope being instrumental in our survival’. This idea is portrayed through Wladyslaw Szpilman, a Polish pianist, as he struggles for survival in Warsaw as everybody that he once knew and everything that he once had is lost. The idea of ‘hope being instrumental in our survival’ is worth learning about as it allows the audience to realise the importance of hope in todays society – and to understand how Polanski uses music to symbolise ‘hope’ for Szpilman in the film. Polanski effectively utilises an array of visual and oral text features such as music, dialogue, and lighting to build further

When I was about twelve years old, I took singing lessons. On the day of a recital, I felt completely unprepared due to a lack of practice, and tearfully refused to leave for the concert. This led to a shouting match between my parents and I, and ultimately led to me angrily quitting my lessons. This event was just one of the times that a fight in our family led to me quitting my activities and goals, though that was not the intention of my parents. As a person, I am not particularly motivated. After having a sudden burst of strength to begin a goal, I would often quit taking steps towards completing it after feeling as if I wasn’t able enough to complete it. Although I do not suffer from low self-confidence, I can and do have sudden

When I was in seventh grade I decided to take painting classes. I did well in them and the next year I signed up for them too. The next year proved to be a challenge. I was having a difficult time with the first painting of the year. My teacher pointed it out that I wasn’t doing it right. I got discouraged and I didn’t attend class again. That same year I also signed up for piano lessons. I had unsuccessfully tried to master the skill before, but I would always quit. I was one of the oldest in the class of about fifteen. I remember two kids in particular. A boy and a girl about two years younger than me. They came from families that had been playing the piano for generations. And wow, I had thought then, they were naturals. I started feeling discouraged when they were ahead of me. I was older, so I thought I was supposed to be more skillful. I blamed it all on the fact that they probably had piano playing talent in their genes. When the lessons got more challenging and I couldn’t yet master the basics, I thought that there was no hope for me and

Music has always been a major part of my family and my parents were determined that my sister and I were well acquainted with music from a young age. Inspired by the sound of the piano by the time I was six, I knew that I wanted to learn how to play it. Fast forward to the first day of class, my teacher, Ms. Lilly, guided me through the school and into a narrow hallway that held five doors. Each door opened to a cramped room that each held a piano, a stool, and a chair. Ms. Lilly’s hand softly held my shoulder as she led me to the first room. I became excited to finally expand my knowledge of music, excited to be given the opportunity to not only listen, but play music, excited that I had the opportunity to inspire others. But I soon became apprehensive about the idea of playing in front of a crowd. I worried that I wasn’t ready to excel in such a complex instrument. I held my breath and sat on the wooden stool beside my teacher, my conflicting emotions, making me dizzy, but

I felt like I worked so hard to make district, yet I still wasn’t able to. But, I knew with more effort and practice, I would make it. I was right, after getting a brand new flute, and working diligently, I was able to go from not making district, to scoring 95.5 points and sitting third chair for the flutes in my district. The moment I found out I made it, and what chair I was, was a moment I’ll never forget. That moment, was when I knew this was something I want to do for the rest of my life. I knew that I wanted to be a world renowned flute player and to play with some of the greatest musicians alive. I knew in that moment, that I wanted to be the orchestra playing in my favorite movie or video game. I knew I wanted to satisfy all the dreams I had as a kid. Without music or my instrument, I wouldn’t know my purpose in life, nor would I have a story to tel. Without music, I wouldn’t have a legacy, or a beautiful representation of who I

Introduction: In the Western world, people often assume that Iran is an exceedingly religious society. Many Americans still view the country through biases formed after the Iranian Hostage Crisis of 1979. To them, Iran is a country where religion dominates social, political, and economic life. Iran’s infamous Shi’a led government has been the target for ethnocentric and racist rhetoric by American politician. While it has been easy for the United States’ people and government to pigeonhole Iranians as devout Muslims who base their decisions on Shi’a tenets, Honeymoon in Tehran by Azadeh Moaveni reveals an entirely different reality. Rather than complying with a theocratic system of rule, Iranians have found methods to defy their government

At age fifteen, I was approached with the opportunity to teach piano while still being unsure of what career path I was hoping to choose, I decided that maybe the teaching experience would help me discern whether or not I would truly enjoy the profession of a piano instructor. With this in mind, I began my first year with two beginner students. At age sixteen, many people began to show interest in wanting me to teach their children, enabling me to begin a small piano studio (The Piano Studio of RYR) with nine students. At age seventeen, my studio increased to nineteen students, and now at age 18, it has grown to twenty-three students. Consequently, I was also offered a position, one day a week, teaching Kindermusik to preschool and K4 children at Stonebridge School. It has become clear to me that my destiny is definitely to teach music! Having the privilege of these wonderful experiences over the last 4 years, has helped me to understand that I truly have the patience, passion and perseverance to teach piano full time. However, it

My life has always been tied to the piano in some shape or form. I can remember the first notes I ever produced. They came from a large Cable upright piano that had sat unused and out of tune for decades. From my early childhood and on my relationship with the piano consisted of nothing more than fleeting encounters. Some days I would sit down and simply play notes I thought sounded nice, but mostly the piano acted as a decoration in my home. It wasn 't until moving to Oklahoma to be with my mother 's family that anything serious developed concerning the piano. I had always been far away from my family, so when I met up with my grandmother we took the time to catch up. She mentioned that my mother used to play the piano quite well. Up until that point I had never given the piano much thought, but I began to think about my mother and all the old piano books she had accumulated from her adolescence. That set in motion my desire to learn how to play and an eventual reappraisal of the way I looked at music and the world around me.

Ever since i was little, I’d always had the dream of growing up and being successful. No matter if it’s getting going to an Ivy League college or just simply being good at something . In Sixth grade, I was introduced to band. I had always admire musician because they were always known to be talented. We were able to try playing different instruments and then make a final choice of what we would like to play. Without any hesitation I tried and picked the flute. Like most people, I couldn’t get a sound out of a flute for the first time. I picked the flute because I believe band could be a good start for me to develop a talent, the sound of a flute is pretty, and the instrument looks elegante. During the first day, we were taught how

I have been playing the piano for about 3-4 years now, so it has affected my life a lot. First, I was questioning taking a musical instrument because I knew it would take a lot of persistence, time, and effort. On the other hand, I knew I would learn to play music that I loved. My parents and I came to a conclusion, and that was that I was going to take the piano at Minton’s Academy of Music. I started off fine, but we didn’t notice any improvement. So we switched teachers, and how I learned changed dramatically. I went from struggling to read simple notes from sightreading songs almost the moment I saw them. Why does this matter, and why should you believe you will see the same results I did? Well, by participating in a music class I’ve learned the skill of perseverance. If I didn’t get a song, I would practice over and over again for weeks and months; I learned it is definitely worth the immense effort. It has had an influence over other subjects and activities I participate in too, such as math, science, and even swimming! Music has taught me to be patient,

As the ivory keys moved up and down I listened to the sweet sound of my grandma's piano playing. I knew that I wanted to be a piano player and that If I were to do that, then my grandma would have to teach me so that one day I could play just like her. I started playing piano when I was seven and I have been playing ever since. My grandma has taught me for five years and will continue to teach me. Piano is very big and important in my family. My cousins play and my grandma also teaches them and we all have to practice for her and other activities. Piano playing has shaped me into the person I am today because having a good attitude,practice, and hard work has helped me by teaching lessons that will help me know what I want to be when I grow up.