This is why I have the best job in the whole wide world.

The Music Store. Consists of: the $1 Box, the $5 Box, candy bars, candy boxes, cookies, and plenty of toys and things.

(idea borrowed from the Provo Piano Academy)

Fun, huh? I always love the first week of the month because I get to do this. It's what my students look forward to all month long. They work hard to pass of their songs and do their assignments, and in turn I pay them with some green little Music Bucks. They save and save and save. Then on the first week of the month, I get to watch their faces light up when they see the treasures in my living room. That's when they know their hard work has paid off. They leave their lesson with a bag full of goodies that they bought all by themselves and a smile on their face.

Teaching is such a beautiful thing. People put down teachers all the time, saying that it's not the greatest occupation because it doesn't get the best pay. What about influence? What about change? What about remembering lessons learned? The thing about teaching is the student isn't the only one learning: the teacher is too. The wisdom one can obtain through sitting one on one with a teacher, or in my case the student, is worth more than all the money in the world. If there is anything that has helped me to mature and to understand patience more, it has been being a piano teacher.

Here's the thing that makes my job different from anyone else's. It's not about the job. It's about them; these kids. Those beautiful, talented children. I would do anything for them. They are my dearest treasures. If I could even begin to tell them the amount of love I have for them... I would probably freak them out. Regardless, I still try to tell them at every recital, and every time the tears form. My greatest desire is to bring out the very best in them through music. They will never understand the potential they have. The greatest part is that I don't even see half of what their parents see, and gosh darn it, I see a lot. What does that mean God sees in them? 

Ashlyn. Camden. Miranda. Brock. Luke. Sierra. Cooper. Shantay. Annika. Hunter. Kade. Emma. Joel. Gabby. 

If there is anything that will hold me back from going to USU, it will be these beautiful spirits.