10,000 hours by Samantha

10,000 hours by Samantha - April 2026 Scholarship Essay

Of cultivation, of fate weaving, of self discovery, development, of the purpose we are reaping into being. Carved as the pieces of ourselves become wood filings no longer serving us that fall to the ground like debris of time that is now lost. That which is gained is so much greater than experience, embodied wisdom becoming part of a person, surpassing mere expertise and becoming its own caliber of knowing. Suddenly, we’re at a crossroads of who we are and what we do and we do not know where one ends and the other begins. I know this feeling and it is me.

I have lived it before, where I have become so immersed in the skill that I have lost track of time. Immersing in the practice so deeply, losing track of myself within the development of what was beyond me. I relate to this with my creative passions, my yoga practice, my tai chi practice and my relationship with understanding deep ecology within nature.

I hope to begin this task again of self discovery with guitar. I have a unique drive to delve deeper into different forms of self expression and have just begun learning guitar. I never thought I’d be able to comprehend music as a living language, thinking it was only for people who had an innate skillset or deep understanding of music theory. Music is not limited to numbers and can just as easily come from the heart. Some of the most profound and touching songs are just a few chords played with soul. This creative pursuit was something my soul longed for and I met this feeling of bringing home fate sincerely on the same day I learned my first chord. Shedding tears that unlocked the feelings that had been stored for far too long. How I met this guitar and simultaneously I also met who I was becoming.

I’m currently cultivating my relationship to music in a new way, utilizing everything at my disposal to help me to understand music, guitar, and myself. Just as when we are in tai chi sword form, we view the sword as part of and an extension of ourselves. We are one entity and move together with the sword.

I am beginning to visualize this complex instrument with six strings and infinite potential as part of me. It is empowering, terrifying, and still, tremendous to hold. A moment spanning a million more, the meditative instinctual practice of merely picking up the guitar day after day and becoming it. This, at my fingertips holding infinity, universes, and creative potential that leads someone to discovering their purpose. I am ready to discover myself here, in the time I put into self development in 10,000 hours that become part of a lifetime of excellence, dharma, and love. Taking the time to practice and move the music from within into pieces of art that can be shared and experienced by others is just one part of this ever unfolding path. Again, day by day, picking the guitar up and playing it, I will find my own form of mastery between the chords of fate.