The biggest fear

For me, failure seems to be the scariest thing after death. My standard of success is very high which usually leaves me frustrated and in tears, but, it also pushes me to move past the bad. One time I remember experiencing failure was in seventh grade when my band teacher, Mr. Seymour, told me not to bother auditioning for All-County band because I was so unprepared and terrible at my solo.

At that time, I was extremely sad because I was trying very hard to learn this difficult piece. I was the "first chair" seventh grade clarinet player at the time and not being able to even try out was a failure to me. Now that I'm older, I can say that this was the only year I missed All County in all the years I was eligible. But is it really a failure? I wasn't denied by the chairmen of All County, just someone I personally knew and trusted. So, the answer is yes...it is a failure on my part.

However I think that missing this opportunity made me push harder to get in the next year. I wanted to prove my teacher wrong because I was good enough and I didn't want to let my parents down. I practiced a lot more, developed better habits and even started taking some clarinet lessons. This really helped and I ended up getting into All County. I actually received a fairly high chair for doing so well.

Out of the initial failure, I taught myself to work hard. It paid off and without this small feat, I probably would not have tried as hard the next year.

 http://www.wikihow.com/Play-the-Clarinet