My Passion for Music - Waterloo AIF question #1

My response for first University of Waterloo AIF question, any advice appreciated!

1. How (and when) did you become involved in this interest and for how long have you been involved? What have you learned about yourself from this interest? How will you apply this knowledge as a student at the University of Waterloo? (150-word limit)

Before high school, I resented music. I was forced to practice from a young age, but without passion, I lost interest. I quit piano, singing, and barely ever touched my guitar. However, everything changed in Grade 9 when I discovered an indie band based in Toronto. Their music impacted me on an emotional level, and inspired me to learn and improve my skills. For the first time in months, I picked up my guitar, and this time, I enjoyed practicing. My skills rapidly improved, allowing me to get involved with music at my school and become a part of large scale performances, concerts, and theatre productions. Finding this passion revealed that I learn best when inspired. I will use this knowledge at the University of Waterloo by finding ways to stay inspired to accelerate my learning and get me through difficult courses, challenging assignments, confusing concepts, and everything in between.

The passion aspect is a bit thin in this presentation. It started off on the wrong foot as well. When something is your passion, it should not begin with a rejection of anything. You cannot remove the first impression that the negative statement will make on the reviewer. It makes your passion for music questionable. A passion is something that you spend a lifetime pursuing because of something good that you get out of it. Not because you function well when inspired. What happens when you lose the inspiration? Exactly, you will end up quitting again. Do not mistake inspiration for passion. Those are not the same thing. Inspiration is fleeting while passion, is a lifelong mission (for some).