A small, still thing...

Sometimes things happen that remind you of the things that you do that make a difference to someone's life, somewhere. And it humbles you.

This is a video made by one of my students. I taught him from when he was 12 until he was 16. He is now in his early twenties. He was my biggest challenge, the student who broke my heart and hurt my feelings and crawled under my skin until I could not let him go. He is the student to whom I meant something, though I had to prove that I wasn't going to give up on him, and who meant a whole lot to me as well.

I can't really tell him that I am so proud of him that I could burst with it. But I am. And he continues to twist my heart, just as he always has. This is Andrew, amazing musician, amazing person. And he changed me. He is one of the reasons that I am the kind of teacher that I am. Thank you, Andrew. And I love you.