Prompt : Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
I am not sure if it fits the prompt, I hope so...
I am not familiar with American expression and phrase, please check if there is any errors.
Thank you:)
I could not raise my head and I kept tuned the instrument that was perfectly tuned long time ago. I felt people in the Veterans' Hospital were staring at me holding foreign instrument with curiosity. Under the humongous pressure, I heard someone introduced my name and I picked my instrument and stood in front of the audience.
"Hello, I came from Korea two years ago with this Korean traditional instrument, Haegeum. As you can see this instrument is a vertical fiddle with two strings. I will present two songs, Yangcheong Doduri and Amazing Grace. Please enjoy."
Even though I memorized the introductory announcement several times, I still missed some parts and my hands were clammy with sweat. I was worried that I would give negative idea on Korean music and I prayed that I could play it without mistake at least. To ease the atmosphere, I told them to feel like Kings and Queens since the first music was Korean court music, but only one person laughed. I felt that no one would understand my performance today and I began playing with sigh.
During the performance, people began to clap following the rhythms of the song and sang along the song they knew, and I gained more confident and played with more energy. After I was done, I could see people smiling at me and sending great applaud with sincere appreciation. I also appreciated them for empathizing with my performance even though it was so foreign and unfamiliar to them.
It took seven years to play in front of people and touch their heart by performance. I was deeply fascinated by the haegeum's uniqueness and the sounds ranging from delight to melancholy. Unlike my expectation, at first, I had to suffer from all the ugly sound I was making. As it was unique instrument, it needed more effort to reach certain level to perform passably in front of an audience. After the long tough period, I could perform it and appeal to the audience over the border.
When I came to the USA, I was simply excited to experience different lifestyle than others. However I had to face many difficulties, strange situation, and disadvantages due to my poor English. I chose a new environment by leaving my familiar homeland, and I persevered through that tough period of adaptation that is sometimes long and harsh. Whenever I felt exhausted, I reminded myself of playing the haegeum in front of the audience, and I moved toward expecting that I can be blended in this new environment and enrich it by my own skills and experience.
I believe when I do my best, I can create the most beautiful sound that touches people's heart. Even though it seems far to reach high level, I will keep practicing until I can play with professional skills and share my passion with the audience. As I am stretching areas within my life, expanding my knowledge, I really hope to expand the places of my haegeum performance to the campus of my dream school someday.
