It was a Saturday morning. “Ring----” I picked up the phone. “Hello---” Immediately I recognized grandpa’s voice. Suddenly, I felt like something was grabbing my heart! The result of my accordion examination had come out! Grandpa lived beside the college where the results were posted, and he promised to go check daily and call us as soon as it came out. My fate was about to be revealed to me.
We exchanged greetings. Neither of us broached the subject. I was too nervous to ask; I wondered why grandpa didn’t just tell me. Did I fail? Finally my dad came in, and I automatically passed him the phone. Greetings again. I was getting a little dizzy; the air was so intense. My mind went blank because there were so many things trying to get into my head. Time, relative to me, seemed solidified. Different scenarios played out in my mind like an old-time movie.
I started playing the accordion when I was four years old. My kindergarten teacher had an organ, which she played in music class each day and we sang to it. The kindergarten children in China were not as free as those in America. Normally, we were not allowed to touch the organ. Only occasionally, after the dismissal and my parents were there to pick me up, could I sit on the bench beside it and press the keys. The sound it made always excited me. Soon, my parents noticed my infatuation with music. They decided to buy me an accordion, though it was really expensive and my family was not too rich at the time. I began to take lessons. At first it was only for fun; eventually my teacher said that I had great talent for music. However, neither my family nor I took it seriously until I was ten. My dad found me the best accordion teacher in the city, and I started to practice with more vigor. It got much more difficult than before. My parents and teacher pushed me so hard that it even made me think of quitting sometimes, but I am glad now that those were just thoughts. I was using the actual testing materials as my textbooks. I started with the first level, and reached the sixth level within half a year. There were still several months left before the test, which would be offered at the end of the summer. Therefore, my teacher and I decided that I would take the test of Level Six.
It has been eight years since I met with that benchmark. My memory does not allow me to remember many details that followed. I just remember that it was not a very pleasant summer—the sun blazed in the sky every day and one hundred and five degree was very common. But there was no choice; I still had to practice between three and six hours each day. Later after I went to junior high and high school I also started playing the saxophone, clarinet, and eventually the piano. Playing the piano for several hours would not be that painful, and probably I would even enjoy myself. But playing accordion, sitting there upright with a big heavy thing on the knees, was really dreadful at times. Whenever I practiced, I would have to put a towel beside me so I could dry my hands and glasses periodically. Every time I put my accordion down, my body and clothes would be drenched.
The physical as well as the mental challenge magnified the significance of this trial. My teacher said that I would pass it with no doubt, but bad and unexpected things do happen. As I stepped into the examination facility and confronted the evaluator, I got so nervous that my whole body quivered. Surely others have experienced this feeling, yet I was novice. I did not perform as well as I played normally. I felt somehow I did not thoroughly express the meaning of one of my pieces.
My memory returned as dad suddenly fell silent. Grandpa must be talking about whether or not I had passed. Silence filled the room. I could hear my heart beating intensely. Then suddenly my dad’s face got bright again.
“Oh he did? Great! Great! Thanks! Thank God!”
Ah! How happy I was! My hard work paid off! I succeeded! Level Six!
Eventually, I passed the seventh, and then the highest level, the eighth in the next two years. I earned a few more prestigious ones later, but none of these made me as excited nor as satisfied. Level Six meant everything. It gave me confidence and encouraged me to keep challenging myself and to set goals for myself even during trying times.
This achievement was indeed a milestone—my first major success in music and one of the biggest achievements in my life.
