A parent of a former student is doing something very sweet for her daughter, she is making a collection book of inspirational quotes, advice for her daughter as a present.
She has three kids (the mom, not the daughter) and all three are teens and she has the time to think about something like this. Color me impressed at her super mom skills.
So I think to myself, what can I possibly say to a young woman studying to go into the profession I just left?
College is fun. You will always look back on your time and remember it fondly. Some of your greatest friends will be from your years at University.
You will learn a lot about yourself in four years. You will grow up quickly and have some of the same feelings like you did in high school ("Oh those freshmen are so young! Ugh!") but it's also a time for you to really find cool very specific things that you are passionate about and really work on it.
Enjoy the university library. There are so many cool resources there that you will never have access to again as a "grown up."
If you really admire a professor take their advice and if you don't like a professor don't worry about what they say. It is so easy to get caught up in worrying about what your professors think or say about you. However just like you and me, they have good days and bad days. Don't let some goofy remark ever crush your spirit or change how you feel about your own worth as a student/musician.
Yes, there are people there smarter and more talented than you. So what!?! They do not have your individual skills and life experience. I met some fantastic musicians in college but they were terrible socially. They were even worse in the classroom. Talent and intelligence does not always translate into usable skill. Some people will be the star all the way to graduation and then you will never hear or see from them again. They didn't go into that field, they ended up doing something else. I know so many performance majors that went into something completely different after (real estate, financial secretary, marketing, librarian) even though they were the best in their studio.
Music is a passion. Studying music can suck the joy out of it. Even Eric Whitacre talks about it.
You need to focus on what you love and not worry about the other stuff. It can be hard sometimes when you are analyzing EVERYTHING and studying EVERYTHING and you start to hate EVERYTHING (yes this is an amazing run on sentence...) but you know what!?!? There will be a time in the not so distant future when you will not have to analyze everything. You will be able to go back to just simply enjoying music without potentially tearing it apart.
NOW as for teaching.
You are awesome, caring and extremely intelligent. Regardless of where you choose to go or what you choose to do-you have much more than many ever will. So keeping that in mind, keep an open mind. Do not do (what I did) and put an insane amount of pressure on yourself to do or be something very specific. Be flexible and open to try new things.
When I was in college I really wanted to go into Music Anthropology because traveling and studying culture sounded so much more cool than anything else in the world. I then realized that there are very small circles of the world that allow someone to make any kind of living in that profession.
Teaching is kind of like anthropology. You are placed in a specific culture, town, social economic status and you then get to study the children, parents and community. As an outsider many might not trust you at first but with your personality the good ones will warm to you quickly. You will have lots of fun but you will also face challenges wherever you go. Kids are kids at the end of the day. They want to know someone cares about them and has their best interest at heart. Kids tend to dislike and not trust the teachers that do not seem to care about them. Even if a kid DRIVES YOU INSANE by their personality or poor behavior, try to care about them anyways. It can be very difficult, but sometimes you will be the only person they will see who is positive to them. That is a gift that will always last in their memory.
As for favorites. Every person I know tends to gravitate towards someone a little more than someone else. There's just better chemistry I guess. Try your absolute best to not show favor to them over others. If you are going to do something special for your students-do it for all of them, not just the good ones. I strongly believe poor achieving kids want to do better, they just need to be supported the right way to do it. Often peer pressure will beat anything you say. Try to get charismatic, happy and funny kids involved in your program. They will inspire the lower achievers to work harder. I did not say popular by they way. Popular doesn't mean better in some cases.
Try to see something special and unique in every kid.
If you can keep a little notebook somewhere and make a note next to each kids name.
For example: "Tara finds a way to incorporate purple into her clothes everyday. Talk to her about it, find out why" Then when you get more info write it in. It's easy to forget things when you interact with over 100 kids a day.
It will also help you remember names and other important information later throughout the year.
You will love your kids, even the "bad" ones. They will become a big part of your life and that is definitely the perk of the job.
As for you-while studying music and while teaching. Get stuff to do away from your subject/job.
Swim laps, go on hikes, play candy crush, go on walks with friends, volunteer with your church, heck ANYTHING so you can give yourself a break from the intensity of what you are doing. Yes, there will be crunch time with lots of difficult things to do and you wont have enough time to use the bathroom or eat, let alone hike-but try to give yourself a break anyways. It will keep you much more sane when the pressure is on. At the end of the day-if you are unhappy doing what your doing, you aren't doing yourself any favors.
Last but not least-do not be afraid to ask for help. Do it often and try to keep an open mind about the help you receive. Just like God's blessings, you might not get what you think you wanted but you will always get you need.
