Week 5 Story: The Piano
The story begins in an empty house. All there was is a little girl, about six years old, playing on a piano. The only other person in the house was her lesson teacher, drilling into her the importance of playing her scales every day. The sounds of the piano reverberates throughout the empty house, her parents nowhere to be seen. The girl felt sad and lonely but that feeling was quickly wiped away by the banging of random keys. "Pay attention," her teacher said, "Even if you are talented, how can you improve if you're daydreaming?" "Sorry," she responds. The girl doesn't mind the scolding though for she loves the piano more than anything. It was the only thing she can remember and the only thing that has been with her. Her dream is to become a world famous pianist but to reach that level, it requires dedication and, most importantly, a lot of time. So the girl played and played, dedicating her entire life to mastering the craft.
Thirteen years later, the girl met someone. This boy frequently attended the introductory piano classes she taught at a club. While he had no musical sense, she did not mind. They started dating soon afterwards and before she knew it, they were married. Not too long after, she gave birth to a little boy and a couple years after that, a little girl. This entire time though, the girl never gave up on her dream. In between the piano lessons that she taught and raising her kids with her husband, she kept on practicing. However, the demands of the family has gotten to the point where she did not have as much time to practice. Realizing this, she started distancing herself. She hired a babysitter for the kids so that she can have more time to practice. She felt so close to her dream, why would she give up now? So she practiced and practiced and practiced until, one day, all she could hear was the sound of her piano, reverberating throughout an empty house. Suddenly, she remembers the empty house of her childhood. She quickly realizes that she cannot continue this. She's at a crossroads in her life: it was either her family or her dream. Remembering her childhood days made her realize something, her dream had changed. While she still wanted to be a world-class pianist, there was something else she dreamed of equally, if not more than her original dream. She wanted to provide for her children and for them to not go through the same childhood she had. So the girl gave up on her dream, her first love, for the happiness of her family.
Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists: Ramayana, Sister Nivedita
Author's Note: When I first read the last part of the Ramayana, I did not understand why Rama would reject Sita. I thought it was just because he did not want a bad reputation being associated with someone that was kidnapped by Ravana. However, after reading through Sister Nivedita's version, I understand that Rama pushed Sita away because of the people he ruled over. They were not comfortable knowing Sita was with Ravana so he sacrificed his chance of happiness for the happiness of the people. This painted a drastically different picture of Rama from the beginning so I wanted to write a more modern story to illustrate the same point. While I still don't agree with what Rama did (since obviously Sita has feelings too), I can kinda understand it a little bit more
Grand Piano
Thirteen years later, the girl met someone. This boy frequently attended the introductory piano classes she taught at a club. While he had no musical sense, she did not mind. They started dating soon afterwards and before she knew it, they were married. Not too long after, she gave birth to a little boy and a couple years after that, a little girl. This entire time though, the girl never gave up on her dream. In between the piano lessons that she taught and raising her kids with her husband, she kept on practicing. However, the demands of the family has gotten to the point where she did not have as much time to practice. Realizing this, she started distancing herself. She hired a babysitter for the kids so that she can have more time to practice. She felt so close to her dream, why would she give up now? So she practiced and practiced and practiced until, one day, all she could hear was the sound of her piano, reverberating throughout an empty house. Suddenly, she remembers the empty house of her childhood. She quickly realizes that she cannot continue this. She's at a crossroads in her life: it was either her family or her dream. Remembering her childhood days made her realize something, her dream had changed. While she still wanted to be a world-class pianist, there was something else she dreamed of equally, if not more than her original dream. She wanted to provide for her children and for them to not go through the same childhood she had. So the girl gave up on her dream, her first love, for the happiness of her family.
Bibliography: Myths of the Hindus and Buddhists: Ramayana, Sister Nivedita
Author's Note: When I first read the last part of the Ramayana, I did not understand why Rama would reject Sita. I thought it was just because he did not want a bad reputation being associated with someone that was kidnapped by Ravana. However, after reading through Sister Nivedita's version, I understand that Rama pushed Sita away because of the people he ruled over. They were not comfortable knowing Sita was with Ravana so he sacrificed his chance of happiness for the happiness of the people. This painted a drastically different picture of Rama from the beginning so I wanted to write a more modern story to illustrate the same point. While I still don't agree with what Rama did (since obviously Sita has feelings too), I can kinda understand it a little bit more
Hi Anthony,
ReplyDeleteI think this was a great story. At first I didn’t know how this related to the Ramayana, but you explained everything well in the author’s note. In the second paragraph where you circled back to the beginning and said she was practicing in an empty house again I was like “Wowowow that’s crazy.” I think it’s nice we can look at other versions to get another, more holistic perspective of the situation. Some might say “Well wouldn’t Sita matter more to Rama?” But then I think back to when the people were willing to die or follow Rama into the forest. Everyone, Sita and the people, have a strong bond with Rama that he has to take into account when he makes decisions.
Hi Anthony,
ReplyDeleteI like your take on the Ramayana. Rama rejected Sita so that his people would feel better. It was his duty as king. However, I disagree with his decision. There were more options than abandoning her. I think that she was more important than any duty as king. If need be, stepping down as king would have been a better decision. I liked your story. It was emotional and displayed the analogy very well. I am very happy she chose her family. Great work!