Fix It by Karissa

Fix It by Karissa - July 2016 Scholarship Essay

“Identify the problem, and fix it.” Instructed my band director, after I once again failed to play my trumpet etude correctly. Initially I was annoyed at how blatantly obvious his advice seemed to be, but nevertheless I decided to humor him and give it a try when I went to practice that night. So I scoured my music, searching for areas that gave me trouble instead of simply playing the piece over and over again, and was able to find the part of the music that I had been missing. I then methodically practiced that particular section, and in the hour that I spent practicing, I was able to fix the problem. The straightforward logic of his words was astounding! How many times had I blindly practiced my trumpet (or anything else, for that matter), hoping to improve something that I didn’t even know existed? My teacher’s words echoed clearly throughout my mind. This would be the most valued lesson I learned from a teacher.
I decided to apply his guiding words to swimming, not only in an attempt to see if I could improve my swim stroke, but also to see if they were as versatile as I was starting to think they might be. That night at swim practice, I didn’t grudgingly swim my laps as I normally would. Instead I swam with a purpose, analyzing my every movement for anything that was slowing me down. After I had found the problem in my stroke, I worked diligently for the rest of the practice to make myself proficient. The next morning was my swim meet, and it was time to put those words to the test once again. I swam confidently, including the improvements that I had worked on the night before. Again they proved their worth when I achieved a new personal record! I was then thoroughly convinced that those words rang true.
I began to wonder what else they could help me with! As I walked into school the next Monday, I stopped in my director’s office to tell him what his advice had helped me accomplish.
“Thank you.” I stated.
“For what?” he replied.
“For telling me how to go about fixing my problems!” I informed him.
“So now you know what to do.” he affirmed.
“Yes.” I agreed, thinking of all of the possibilities of improvement in writing a paper, studying for a test, fixing relationships, or bettering bad habits. Now every time I come across a problem, I remember his intelligent instructions.“Identify the problem, and fix it.”