My story with the piano started out like most. I don’t recall asking to take piano lessons, but at the age of 8 I found myself doing just that. As the youngest of four children I was destined to follow in the footsteps of either playing a sport or an instrument. My lack of interest in anything competitive (which for the most part remains with me today) naturally ruled out sports. To be honest I don’t remember ever being excited about piano lessons. I had wonderful teachers, but as an overly-imaginative child (some may call it ADD) I found the rigidity of piano lessons frustrating. However, with my parents’ promise of “you’ll thank us later” I stuck with it into my mid-teens. Around the age of 15 I finally discovered music. I stumbled across artists like David Lanz, Kurt Bestor, and despite the quizzical looks from my friends, Yanni. These artists helped me realize the connection between emotions and music. Though I had practiced and played mu...