It's Amazing

- Impromptu -

A former student of mine dropped by yesterday.

She comes over whenever she’s around the area. By my estimation, this has been happening once a year, ever since she moved away a few years ago.

It’s remarkable to see how much she’s changed, in both appearance and personality.

I’ve already forgotten, but she showed up at my door with (what I believe was) purple hair with green-tipped highlights, along with rockstar-like accessories wrapped around her wrists and fingers.

She’s obviously more comfortable in her skin, but what really stands out to me is how much more she speaks her mind.

I seem to realize these things to late; the contrast becomes startling when you don't see or talk to them as often.

Out of everyone I know, I used to worry about her the most. Now she’s the person I worry about the least.

I guess this means I’ve changed a lot too. Because these surprises don’t surprise me anymore.

Being wrong is no longer the anomaly that it once was—the truth being that it was never an anomaly in the first place. 

I just didn’t notice what was always there.

At this point, the older me would have said that I should have had more faith in her. But I know now there's no way to know this before the fact.

That was the crux of our conversation. The notion that we should know these things, that we should know what we’re doing at all times.

Get your act together.

I find it ridiculous that she feels she has to have it figured out, when I’m more than twice her age and I’m no closer than she is.

For Christ’s sake, she has the rest of her life ahead of her. She’s barely getting started!

I don’t think anyone has a clue. I think it scares most people to death to admit this.

Funny enough, when I told this to her she said it made her feel better. I saw her immediately relax.

Look at me. 

I never chose to be a piano teacher.

You think I expected to be doing this for this many years?

And thank God I didn’t know it was going to end up this way.

I’m so glad I never really had a say in the matter.

You would never have been my student.

I would never have been your teacher.

We would never have had these conversations.

It’s amazing.

I would have never imagined you would have changed my life for the better in such an important way.

Kid, I’m so proud of you.