It's a New Year!

 Hello and afternoon to all my beautiful friends!
I know I'm kinda late jumping on the New Year's bandwagon, but regardless of that it's about time that I make a new post about what's been going on and what will be happening in the future, and honestly, what not a better topic to write about than my New Year's resolutions?
I know, I know... resolutions (and everything else in life) take commitment and persistence, however, I really believe I can keep the ball rolling on this one and try to post a little more frequently than I did last year. What makes this idea appealing is the possibility of presenting new content and posts, which I've been stewing on for quite sometime now.
Last year in summary was both crazy and awesome! New dog, two new jobs, new friends, old friends, new experiences, orchestra, and much, much more. It really ended up being a year of New Beginnings for me, and I look forward to 2019 with curiosity and excitement.
So what do I plan on posting about this year?
Mainly, my music.
So many people have encouraged me to blog, teach, podcast, or host what I know about music, what I'm learning, and what improvements I need to make to further explore music and my own musicianship, but honestly up until now, I've never felt qualified to do these things and rightfully so; I've never officially had a student (although I'd taught two children for a limited time), I had never played in an orchestra (til this year), I struggled with limited repertoire to play, my sightreading and music theory was very limited and of course, I was way too inexperienced to teach... all good reasons, right?
Despite these setbacks, on the other hand, I had literally taught myself how to play the guitar and violin without flawed technique, I developed a sensitive ear for music and could play by ear before reading a single note, my teacher of last year brought me up three years in violin technique, I pushed through the tediousness of vibrato exercises, shifting exercises, finger exercises, scales, calloused fingers, harmonics (on both violin and guitar), right hand guitar technique, and the initial but very uncomfortable 4 years of not having a violin shoulder rest. I even pushed through my limits of thinking I was too old to play the violin and too uncoordinated for the guitar but demolished both lies, my sightreading is exceptionally well and I'm actually thriving (not surviving) in an orchestral environment, and the list goes on.
Just writing these few examples opens my eyes to see that I do have a lot to offer, which drives me to this conclusion: the perfect time for me to share all I know will never come. I'll be learning til the day I die, so what's the point in waiting when I can share what I'm learning now?
There is so much to cover and discover, learn and share! I don't have to wait until I have my doctorate's in music, become a certified teacher, be a member of an excellent orchestra or whiz through Paganini to share what I know, there is plenty to share, here and now. There are so many topics to cover, questions to ask! But I want to take you on this journey with me and give you the opportunity to witness my growth as a person and a musician, but this goes both ways!
What are you learning? What are your questions? Where do you find inspiration and where is your call? But most importantly, what is holding you back from pursuing your hopes and dreams? I want to be apart of your lives as much as I want you to be a part of mine, only together can we find a solution to face our limitations and conquer our fears!
So, to A New Year and a new journey, to new ideas and new beliefs, to new relationships and friendships, to new solutions and new aspects, and to the ever renewing love of Messiah and the Father. Let's make this year amazing, let's learn about music together!