I would like to tell y'all a story. I vividly remember the day when my Mom, my little sister, Caroline, and I were at Kohler's grocery store. Yes, once upon a time, it was called Kohler's, not Ridleys. Anyway, I remember this one day we were going to do our shopping, and right as we walked in the doors on the right hand side of the store, my mom asked Caroline and I what we wanted to be when we grew up. My response?
A cowgirl.
The Strawberry Day's rodeo. Remember? Pleasant Grove City put on the Strawberry Day's rodeo every year and I remember going when I was, oh, probably about 7 years old, and looking at the trees and the sky behind the rodeo grounds and telling my Dad that they looked like a picture, not real life. They looked so still and I thought for sure the whole scene was one giant photograph. And I remember eating bowl after bowl of Strawberries and cream and wondering what could be better in the world. And then I remember the girls on the horses. Oh, the girls on the horses! They had their hats and their boots and their flags! They rode around and around the circle on their horses carrying their flags. And that was the moment I decided that I was destined to become a cowgirl.
11 years later, here I am at Vanderbilt University studying Violin Performance at the Blair School of Music. I spend a good 14 hours a day at Blair, practicing for, I dunno, 6 or 7 of those hours, taking classes for 3 of them, and studying/eating my meals/accidentally (or not accidentally) falling asleep on the actually quite comfortable benches on the second floor. Or just the floor of my practice room, whatever is closest.
So basically my whole 7 year old fantasy of becoming a cowgirl is gone, right? Disappeared. Vanished. Completely extinct.
FALSE.
May I present to you... (drum roll please)....
MY COWGIRL BOOTS.
I, Emily Richards, have OFFICIALLY fulfilled my life long, or at least since-I-was-like-7-years-old long, dream of becoming a cowgirl.
(No, I don't ride horses. No, I don't carry flags around circles at rodeos. And, NO, I don't fiddle. But, I have my boots and that is most definitely enough to make it official.)
But for real, those are my boots on my feet. And they're genuine leather and they smell like it, too. And I'm wearing them home on the plane ride tomorrow, which is terribly exciting.
Also, I have another story. Who's ready? Anyone remember story time in the second grade? And everyone racing for the front row of the story time carpet? Well, race, my little kiddies, cause it's story time.
Mom pulls me into the living room at the beginning of the summer to ask me a question. She sits me down and says, "Do you really wanna do Salute to Youth or not? Cause it's gonna be a lot of work, especially with two auditions, but I know you can do really well if you decide to put the work in. It's up to you."
And I was like, yeah, I wanna do it.
But, my insides were like, "WHAT are you getting yourself INTO?! This is your LAST SUMMER AS A CHILD. You need to enjoy it and be lazy like kids right out of high school are supposed to do. You need to get 8 snow cones every day and stay out late every night of the week and go to Peaks 4 days of the week and Lagoon at LEAST twice a week, and if you can fit it in, MAYBE practice. You need to have FUN!"
But instead I was like, yeah, I wanna do it.
And, I really did. I was terrified, though, cause Salute to Youth is such a long shot, and so many kids audition for just 6 maybe 7 spots on the concert to perform with the Utah Symphony. And I would have to make 2 solid recordings, one by myself, and one with my trio and I absolutely HATE recordings. And then, if I made the first cut, I would have to go out onstage twice for 2 nerve racking auditions. Not to mention the double amount of hours I would have to put in for 2 auditions and driving to and from Salt Lake a million times a week and the never ending coachings and lessons and rehearsals and never, ever, ever stopping.
But even with all these thoughts, I was like, yeah, I wanna do it.
So, that day, I told my insides to ZIP IT because I was in for one HECK of a summer. And every day I decided to do my best and every day I prayed a million prayers and every day I did stupid, slow intonation work, which really isn't stupid, it's really quite effective. And every day I practiced as much as I could and every day I woke up as early as my little body would let me to get stuff done. And every day I would try to eat healthy so I could have as much energy as I could and every day I would try and try and try. And every day I reminded myself that even if I didn't win and even if I got cut after the first round, and even if I lost my last chance to perform in front of the UTAH SYMPHONY, that I was going to do it, cause it's what felt right and it's what I needed, for one reason or another, to do.
Don't worry, that's not the end of the story, but in reality, it kind of is, because that? That was the best part of all. The "HEAVENLY FATHER. I CAN'T PRACTICE TODAY. HELP MEEEEEE"'s. And the carrots. You know, carrots may give you energy and all, but they're so bland. And the the drone of my tuner yelling at me to PLAY THAT STUPID D IN TUNE. Cliche, I know, but I'm a different person after this summer. I still remember sitting on the couch next to my Dad the night before live auditions and tellin him, "Dad, it's okay if I don't win, cause this process has been the best thing. I've learned so much. Tomorrow is just the icing on the cake." And, it's true.
It's about the little moments. The millions of little moments. It ain't about winning. It's about the process, the journey, the adventure. So, as Matthew would say, "Words of Wisdom from Emily!!" (in a completely sarcastic tone of voice, might I add. He secretly loves my deep thoughts, he's just too intimidated to admit it, that's all.) I would say to make the process count. Try as hard as your little heart will let you every day. Give it your all. You will feel the rewards in your heart and you'll see it all around you.
I promise it.
P.S. To finish the end of the story, my trio and I won and y'all should come hear us perform the first movement of the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Utah Symphony on Tuesday, October 1st, at Abravanel Hall in downtown SLC. Also, I couldn't be more excited. It's some seriously good tasting icing, let me tell ya.
Peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment