I. Love. Music. Music has always been a passion of mine, ever since I started to learn how to play piano when I was five years old. Though my mother only required my siblings and I to learn piano for one year, I kept going and continue to play piano regularly to this day.
The thing with pianos, though, is that they're super heavy and really awkward to try to move around. My piano, named Penelope, lives at my parents' house so I only get to play her when I'm over there visiting (which, thankfully, is often). Therefore, I recently decided that I wanted to learn how to play an instrument that I could take with me wherever I went. One that I could play as easily at my house as my parents' house as the coffeehouse. I decided that I was going to learn how to play the ukulele.
Unfortunately, I didn't know anyone who knew how to play the ukulele. I'm not in school anymore so I couldn't take a class in it, and I couldn't find a community class to take. But it was stuck in my head - I HAD to learn how to play the ukulele. So I turned to the one source that holds the answers to basically all quests: the Internet.
I started off doing my research. I used the Internet to read reviews, listen to sound tests, and purchase the exact right ukulele for me - his name is Eugene and he's wonderful. I looked up tutorials on YouTube to teach me how to hold my hands the right way, I found sheet music so I could learn how to play some really fun songs, I even downloaded an app to my phone that allows me to tune my instrument so the chords sounded the way they're supposed to. After only ONE day of using technology and the Internet in a positive way, learning how to play the ukulele, I was able to play this:
Now, I know I'm not going to be opening for any major concerts anytime soon, but the Internet and technology allowed me to be able to play one of my favorite songs in a short amount of time. They are such incredibly powerful tools, and if used in a positive way can allow you to create amazing things.
Use the Internet, use technology, and use them to create. We use them constantly to entertain, and to a small extent there's nothing wrong with that. But we often overlook using them for creative and meaningful purposes. Create music, create art, create ideas, create candy if that's what you're passionate about - just create something amazing.
Remember - creative time online is not wasted time. I challenge you to take away one thing that you use the Internet for that's purely entertainment based, and replace it with something that is creative. See where it takes you, and let us know! Maybe you can find your Eugene, too!
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