Colton C.

Dudley

Mrs.Percival

English IV

13th November 2020

Obstacles are the prelude to accomplishment, I’d say the one that was most mentally

straining was a plateau I hit with my music endeavor, roughly a year ago, I wasn't satisfied with any

material I was composing, And I didn’t find any joy in doing renditions of other people's songs. I

found this dilemma more detrimental to me because it was one of the first problems I'd confronted

that wasn’t material, it wasn’t something that could be resolved by simply using logic or critical

thinking. A few more weeks trickled by and I still found myself idle, and I began to spiral into

unproductivity. I'd spend hours fumbling and moving around the fretboard of my guitar, but nothing

sounded right. After a few more monotonous days I determined that I was probably just burnt out, I

chose to take a few days to distance myself from guitar, and I indulged in my other hobbies, I took a

week to explore places with my friends, I picked up another job, anything I could to try and give

myself a feeling of inspiration or rejuvenation, the break however seemed futile, while I was excited

to play guitar again, I found myself reverting right back to the same songs I’d wrote or learned,

basically bringing myself right back where I started. Like most good stories of struggle or adversity,

I had my eureka, epiphany moment, I’d come to the realization that although I was putting so much

time and effort into the guitar, I was depriving myself of what brought me the passion to play

music, simply listening to it. I thought that by mindlessly practicing and working on technique I

was developing my dexterity and skill, but in truth It had an adverse effect.