When I was 9, my grandpa gave me a guitar.  He had somehow come into possession of this student guitar and decided to give it to me.  I played around on that thing.  I had always wanted to play an instrument, but my parents could honestly not afford it.  The guitar was my chance to learn a guitar.  No one gave lessons in my town – so I found books and music and taught myself.  I didn’t realize how well I had done teaching myself the guitar until I reached 8th grade.  We had music class for a quarter, and the teacher taught guitar for part of the class.  I rocked it while others struggled.  And I realized how much I had learned on my own.

Fast forward to a couple of years ago.

I decided to get a ukulele and teach myself to play.  It was fun. It made me giggle and smile doing it.  Such a funny little instrument that can bring so much joy.

I am grateful for music in my life. Not just what I can download and play on my iPhone (which is amazing) but also that I had the foundation to play music myself.  Even if I’m self taught – it still brings me joy – it still makes me smile.  I am grateful for that.

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