Personal Statement

Passionate, ambitious, persistent; these are the main characteristics that shape who I am. I have been traveling around Asia my whole life and have had the opportunity to interact with people from various backgrounds and cultures. Although I am Japanese, I have never actually lived in Japan before, therefore this affects me in the sense that I don’t feel as connected to the culture and community. The question ‘where are you from?’ is conflicting to answer as I have lived in Singapore for almost half my life. Wherever I go, people would always tell me that I looked Indonesian/American or Chinese, which in the past had given me some insecurities. I always thought that I wouldn’t be able to fit in with Japanese people, mainly because of my ability to understand and speak Japanese is lower, which sometimes limited the relationships I could make. Currently, I am very focused on music as I am very passionate about it. My goal is to continue to explore new doors in music to go beyond what I think I am capable of doing and to encounter challenges.

 

From the age of 3 I started learning ballet and the piano. I always used to think I would follow the path of dance, however that feeling began to fade rather recently. A year ago I decided to stop dancing as I felt some sort of connection with music and my effort and time was gradually spent on playing the piano. Dancing started to become hours of boredom and gloom, the classroom started to feel unsafe and uncomfortable, and I felt myself distance from dance. When I was 9 I took my Grade 5 piano exam, it was a moment in my life where I started to give up; I scored very low to what everyone had expected, my piano teacher, my parents, my friends. I knew it was what I should’ve received, with the lack of determination and commitment, yet I so badly wanted to succeed. Then came two more years of exam, still with very little passion and in the back of my mind always thinking “it’s okay, I’m not going to do this in the future”. Halfway through taking my grade 8, I started to think about the effort I was putting into piano, if I never fully commit, what’s the point in even continuing? My parents had also made it clear to me, I wasn’t hardworking. I was so confused about what I was passionate about, I didn’t have a clear route. Thinking that it was probably the last year for me of taking piano exams, I decided to dedicate my time for the last 3 months, practicing daily, connecting more with the music. With that, I had finally achieved what I had always wanted; success. But this was only the first step, I didn’t know what was yet to come. My piano teacher pushed me to the next level, preparing me for my ARSM. This was a big step and a huge challenge for me, practicing wasn’t easy, I would continuously make the same mistakes, unable to correct them and getting used to hearing the words “practice more”. From thinking of piano as a waste of time to feeling so closely attached to music, I was able to learn so much about myself in the past year. I finally know, I truly love music.

 

Successfully passing my ARSM with distinction, I was in tears when I found out about this. This is what it felt like to work for something you really desire, to show perseverance through the cruelty of reality. This has allowed me to work towards my next goal of completing my DipABRSM; the next level. I have chosen more challenging pieces to work towards which so far has allowed me to see my full potential and highlight areas of weakness in order to improve my skill and performance quality. In terms of school, I also joined the Jazz combo, chamber ensemble as well as piano masterclass to give me an opportunity to broaden my musical platform and explore various areas in terms of music.

 

Over the past 2 years, I have been able to find out who I am as a musician which has also allowed me to express my emotions and thoughts that I am unable to convey through words. Music lets me enter a different world, to just stop and forget about all the negative and stressful things in my life. Has piano limited the time I spend on other activities?…Yes. However, I believe if I continue to challenge myself in music and explore different regions, the outcome will be beneficial and overweigh the limiting aspect of it.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *