10/08/2026
Sitting here thinking about year nineteen in the studio, and it honestly feels a little heavier and more tender this time around. When you hit almost two decades of doing something, the perspective just shifts entirely.
People always talk about piano lessons like they are just an extracurricular activity or a checklist item for a resume. But after nineteen years of watching lives touch mine through this instrument, I realize why piano lessons actually matter so deeply in a kid's life.
We live in a world that is so fast and loud and instant. A world where kids are constantly rushing from one thing to the next, looking at screens, and wanting immediate results. But the piano doesn't allow for shortcuts. Sitting at the bench teaches a kind of patience you just cannot manufacture anywhere else. It teaches young minds how to sit with frustration, how to break something overwhelming down into tiny, manageable pieces, and how to trust that consistency actually works. When a kid spends weeks wrestling with a messy measure and finally makes it sing, they are learning a masterclass in grit that goes way beyond music.
Over these nineteen years, I have learned that the piano bench is also a quiet kind of sanctuary. It has been a place where kids can walk in, having the hardest week of their school year, drop their heavy backpacks, and just breathe and play. It is a place where we build real relationships. You get to witness the full arc of growing up, celebrating the college acceptances and holding space for the quiet moments, all while planting seeds of creativity and self-expression that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.
That is why piano lessons are so important. They aren't just about shaping good pianists. They are about shaping people, feeling, patient human beings who know how to work hard for something beautiful.
It is emotional this year seeing that twenty-year mark getting so close, but more than anything, I just feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude. For every student who has sat on this bench and trusted me with a piece of their story!!
From starting out with 7 students and a performance in my home to a studio hitting 100 students and performances at places like the Gatsby and The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts. This journey of teaching piano has been nothing short of amazing!!
Tonight I’m just sitting here humbled and blessed from all my memories 🎶🎶🎶🎶
