Sweet Sorrow

When I decided I wanted to learn how to play the piano, more than anything I just wanted to learn Erik Satie's Gymnopédie No. 1. It's my absolute favorite piece of music. My mom used to play the cassette tape when my sister and I were going down for our naps as very young children.

I wished that I could produce it myself. But of course, you can't just learn one piece of music and say you know how to play the piano. I was practicing the hand movements and the chords and doing my best to actually read bass clef without writing a letter above each note, because I wanted to learn to actually play, and not just play the one song.

But over the last few weeks, I've neglected practicing more than I'm proud of, and when I finally sat down again to keep learning, my heart just wasn't in it anymore. I think the time has come to pack up my keyboard, music books and accoutrements and send them back to my parents' house where they belong.

If I'm going to teach myself how to do something, I want to be passionate about it. Unfortunately, I didn't feel that passion when I practiced — just stubbornness to accomplish something difficult.

Over time, have your goals changed? What ideas have you given up on?