Comments

Oooh, I LOVE reading stories like this. They make me smile for the rest of the day. Big congrats to you! : ) Good for you, Natasha! Your attitude is an inspiration. Is there something about playing the violin that makes teenage girls mature beyond their years? You, Sydney, Maura...I know people ten years older than you guys who don't have that kind of wisdom. :) Natasha, good for you and congratulations! To be sucessful means you are always able to quickly get up each time you are knocked down. Your last paragraph is very inspirational to a poor college student like me who's currently failing all of her classes. :) Nice! I knew things weren't as dismal as you thought. :) Hey! Congratulations. Violin like no other instrument is a wonderfully cruel endeavor that takes years of patience and persistence unless one just wants to fiddle(not dissing fiddle here).... Congratulations on impressing the judges and on your wisdom about how to handle failures, setbacks, and successes. I'll try to follow your advice in my own life.

William Starr, a great violin teacher trained by Suzuki, compared learning to play the violin with learning to walk. Toddlers keep trying, falling, and crying, but they are persistent. After many failures, they learn to do it correctly.

Congrats, Natasha!!!! :D