Discipline

Last night was the last orchestra rehearsal of the semester, and our concert tonight will be the last of the season. For some like me, who are graduating, it will be the last of their career at the University of Iowa. Dr. Jones left us with some parting words last night. I don't know if you'd call them parting words or a lecture, it was somewhere in between, but I think it was a good message, and we all needed to hear it. He spoke about discipline and how far it can take you when you have it and how disappointed you'll be in life if you don't. When I came here, I was one of the people who didn't have it. I didn't practice enough, I complained about long rehearsals. When break came, my horn went in the case for two months. I wasn't a career focused musician.

Despite what you may think, discipline is not an inborn quality. I changed my attitude. It was time to put up, or shut up and get out of music. I decided to be a musician. My horn doesn't stay in its case on break, I practice every day of the week, and I am patient in long rehearsals. Even when we work hard and learn discipline, it will still be a struggle. My weak spot is weekends. It's very hard for me to practice over the weekends because it's time to catch up on work or spend with my husband. It's hard for me to have the discipline to put the horn over him.

Discipline isn't just something we have. It's a choice that we make. It's something we do for ourselves to become better. Sacrifice is involved in greatness. Discipline is accepting the sacrifices you have to make in order to achieve your goals. If you're struggling with the discipline to practice, then reconsider your priorities in life. I know now that my husband is more important to me than horn, and that the level of sacrifice and discipline it would take for me to be in a major league professional orchestra is more than I am willing to give. And that's okay. The sacrifice this semester of a 12 hour schedule on Mondays so that I can get two hours of practice in is worth it for the recital performance I'll give in a week and a half. Know your priorities and know yourself. Discipline. The farther you want to go, the more of it you need to have.