- My STEP Signature Project included taking guitar lessons over the summer. I was lucky enough to get in person lessons once a week and then I would go home to practice, and continue on my musical journey the next week.
- I think the biggest thing that I realized during my STEP Signature Project was just how much I have not seen or experienced yet. I grew up pretty much just playing sports, going to school, and hanging out with my friends and family. That was my routine every week. I never really experimented with other activities such as drama, music, drawing, painting, or anything artistic like that. I thought those things weren’t for me, but now after completing my STEP Signature Project, I know that I enjoy a lot of these things.
Another thing that I realized about myself is that I love cooking. I think that on paper, having STEP cover my food for the summer is a very underrated aspect of my project, but it really made a big impact on me. Since I did not have to worry that much about the cost of food as I have in the past, I figured this summer would be the perfect time for me to try new foods and work on my cooking skills. I tried many foods that I have never had before like salmon, curry, pad thai, and others. As a college student, my money that I spend on food is limited so I am used to eating the same things every week. With my STEP funds, I got to appreciate foods from other cultures as well as the art of cooking. - The relationship I formed with my guitar teacher Danny was a very important relationship that I made that influenced me throughout the summer. My guitar teacher was selected for me by the company that I took lessons from based on my music interests and what I wanted to accomplish this summer. I can honestly say that the people at Musicologie (the company where I took lessons at) made a great decision when they matched me and Danny together. He really understood what I wanted to learn and curated my lessons to just that. He also gave me a flexibility where I was able to ask about something different musically than what we had planned on working on that day. My relationship with Danny opened my mind to what music lessons can be and how I could recreate similar relationships with other people during a jam session. He inspired me to try new things that I wasn’t comfortable with, and I will apply that lesson both to music and life.After being able to purchase better food this summer, I tried to cook different and more diverse foods. Since I was not taking classes this summer, I also had a lot more time to cook and I can say for sure that I took advantage of this. My favorite recipe that I discovered this summer was a ginger lime curry. I was inspired by my roommate Preet who is Indian. I’ve never tried Indian food before, but his mom always made him food from home and he had us try it. I loved it and started going to Indian restaurants. After going the restaurant route, I told myself that I wanted to try to cook this food myself. So, I looked up a recipe online and cooked it. I learned that it was not as easy as I hoped it would be and the first batch did not turn out amazing. But, I didn’t let that stop me. I tried cooking two other nights and I finally figured it out. Now the ginger lime curry is a staple in my cooking arsenal, and it is a fan favorite (I’ve cooked it for my parents and they love it).
Now, let me talk about the reasoning behind my STEP project: guitar lessons. I got my first guitar when I was in kindergarten, but I never actually learned how to play it. I thought it was cool and my dad taught me one song, but I never learned anything after that with that guitar. This summer, I finally accomplished my goal of learning how to play guitar. The main thing I wanted to learn was the basics. This doesn’t sound extremely fun or interesting, but I knew that the only way I was going to continue playing was if I understood the basics of guitar and not just bits and parts of different songs. With the basics under my belt, I was able to learn songs much easier than going on YouTube and trying to learn a specific riff or song without any background knowledge. My teacher Danny taught me how to read tabs, basic chords, and a little bit of music theory. Music theory was an entirely new concept to me and I’m glad that I learned it. This knowledge allows me to understand why certain chords sound good together and also allows me to appreciate how many songs are put together. I am no expert on music theory, but I did gain a basic understanding of it this summer and this garnered a newfound appreciation of music in me.
- This change matters to both my personal and professional goals. Both personally and professionally, I want to diversify myself. I know that I grew up in a very sheltered neighborhood and did not experience a lot of diversity at all. By learning how to play guitar, I tapped into a different part of myself that has not been touched. I honestly didn’t listen to music at all until I was a sophomore in high school. Before then, I was just uninterested in music and anything else artistic. Now, I am a junior in college and listen to music every day, and I can even write some on my own! This is important to me because I learned I can be successful in artistic endeavors and am able to relate with others who are interested in the arts.Professionally, my goal is to become a doctor. Now being able to play guitar and cook may not sound like they are related to this goal, but to me they are. I think being a good doctor not only involves having the brains, but it also involves being very well rounded. I don’t want to be a doctor where all I do is go to work, come home, eat, sleep, and then go back to work. I want to come home and have other passions to spend my time on. I also believe that medical schools are looking for applicants that are well rounded. My STEP project has added two new passions to my life that I am excited to talk about and excited to share. I will forever be grateful for the opportunities that STEP provided me.
Thanks for sharing–glad this was such a transformational experience for you!