Tomorrow I start living the strictest schedule I've ever made. I'm full of both dread and excitement. To prove how serious I am about keeping my commitments this week, I've selected a mentor and have given them $500. To put in perspective what that means to me, the following $500 equivalencies have been listed: two piano competitions worth of prize money, an Elevation session, a Weston A. Price conference ticket, 5 weeks of New Century Conservatory piano lessons, plane tickets to see my friends, my total college application and audition fees, that Disneyland trip my brother and I have loosely planned, Creative Cloud for nearly a year, and the Washington D.C. MCO tour.
I certainly don't want to lose these 500 bucks to my wonderful mentor because of how freakin epic these things are and how much I want to have them, thus I have committed to practice the piano for a minimum of 3 hours a day. That is the bare minimum. I should be putting in more. On Wednesday and Thursday I'm doing 4. This week I must completely perfect my Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody and have it ready to record for college auditions by Friday morning at my piano lesson. I have committed to my mother to put in an average of an hour per day of housework. After this move, our house is still in dire need of unpacking and organizing and sorting. Also, it is more than halfway through the semester and I have barely scratched the surface of two self-paced courses I have registered for. I desperately need to get caught up in these.
If I do not meet my goals of practicing at least 3 hours of piano per day, putting in an average of 1 hour in housework each day, and getting caught up in my self-paced classes this week, I will lose $500 bucks AND I will feel utterly pathetic.
BUT HAVE NO FEAR, for I am going to do this.
However, I can only do this if I stick to my schedule with exactness. I must go to bed before 9 each night and wake up before 5 each morning. I have factored in my personal scripture study, family scripture study, daily meditation, journaling, daily exercise, family history work, a temple trip with a friend, and a few Veterans Day programs with friends and family. Behold, my fuel for the week. I don't want to miss these things. It will throw off my life, and I CANNOT AFFORD TO THROW OFF MY LIFE THIS WEEK SO let's not stay up late and let's get spiritually and physically and mentally energized. I will need it if I'm going to have the stamina to study and practice this much.
I'm so ready for this. I'm confident I can and will do it with the help of the Lord. I can't wait to hear what my Liszt is going to sound like at the end of the week. I am so excited to see what I can do.
Alright. I'm going to bed. I love you all.
