end-of-school year blues

There is a certain sadness that envelops me at the end of the school year. It is the time when your high-school senior students leave you.

From an annoying or rambunctious or timid and quiet 4 or 5 year old, I’ve seen a lot of them grow up under my watch as confident teenagers, ready to take on the world, sometimes cautious and afraid, but always eager to venture out to new horizons.

Most of them say goodbye formally: with flower bouquets, plants, cards and letters, hugs, and some shed tears. I’ve had a few, however, who said their goodbyes via a long message via text! Perhaps they just don’t want to have the “goodbye” experience after 8, most often 10-12 years of weekly piano lessons with me. It is with the latter that I feel most relieved because I get to spare myself the myriad of emotions that happens during that last lesson day of the year.

On their last day, they get to pick a book from my music library… it is mostly Chopin, Beethoven, and Bach. In their chosen book, I write my dedication, hoping that they will continue playing even if they leave me and the studio…

Life moves on, and soon, the next set of 5 year olds start in the summer…and the cycle continues.