1 . I’ll always remember the first time I tried ballet. My mother was a dancer and I wanted nothing more than to be like her, but after making mistakes during my first class, I felt like I wanted to quit right away. However, I told my mom I couldn’t wait to dance again because it was only my first day.

Weeks passed and my dancing didn’t get any better. Then my dance teacher announced that we were going to perform in a show. I was scared of falling on my face in front of hundreds of people and disappointing my mom.

Even though I practiced hard for the show, I never quite got the hang of it. Finally, I went to my mom to tell her how I felt. She simply laughed and told me she would teach me all she knew about ballet.

My mom quickly discovered how bad at ballet I was, but she still taught me with the greatest patience, love and understanding. When I jumped and fell, she was there to catch me. When I lost my balance, she held me up. By the time the show arrived, I was as prepared as I could be.

The music began and my heart started to race. Breathing calmly, I began moving to the music without missing a step. When the music stopped, I ran off the stage and laughed in excitement.

My mom found me and gave me a huge hug, telling me how proud she was. I looked my mom in the eye and told her that there was no way this could have happened without her. Through this, I realized one important fact: My mom will always be there to catch me if I fall.

2 . A recent research study suggests that learning music doesn’t make you smarter.

For a while, there was an idea found on the Internet and in various magazines that suggested that babies could become smarter if they listened to Mozart, or to other classical music. Inspired, some parents bought classical CDs for their babies in the hope that this would boost their intelligence. But this so-called “Mozart Effect” has been challenged repeatedly.

But is taking music lessons surely different from just listening to music? Wouldn’t taking music lessons make kids smarter? That’s exactly the question that many researchers over the years have tried to answer. Some of their studies concluded that it does, and some found that it doesn’t. For example, one study showed that music education did not improve reading skills, while another one found a small effect of music on young children’s ability to learn words.

The researchers of the new study, Giovanni Sala (Fujita Health University) and Fernand Gober (London School of Economics), looked at the data behind 54 carefully selected studies, and after carefully comparing the data from different papers, they concluded that children who took music lessons did not score higher on tests that measure their intelligence or academic ability than kids that didn’t learn music.

If music doesn’t make you smarter, how does that explain other research that shows that music lessons help students’ school performance? It seems like there is something about music lessons that makes students able to perform better in their other classes. That doesn’t have to be intelligence, and it’s likely not. Music lessons could have helped in different ways: They could have led to a change in homework habits, they could have increased confidence, or they could have improved social skills. And finally, they also mention that music education could still be beneficial to students’ performance in non-music subject if the music is combined with these classes. So feel free to keep making music, and keep encouraging children to learn music.

3 . Exams never made me break out in a nervous sweat—but this one did. Even booking my piano exam reduced me to a mess of anxiety.

I feel permanently scared inside churches, where piano exams are held—no longer admiring their beauty because over the years I have received terrible marks from examiners. Despite being 15—too old, too cool to be frightened—I remember trembling inside the bathroom before my tests. I wished I never had to play in front of others.

This time, after booking my Level 8 Royal Conservatory of Music piano exam, I went back to my normal routine. A little practice here; a little practice there. And then it happened. My trusty, 10-year-old electric piano gave out. When I told my father what had happened to my piano, he only glared at me with disappointment, “When I was your age, I learned to be resourceful.”

Hmm. I had a broken piano, an exam coming up in a few months and a father who refused to buy me a new piano because he wanted to teach me a “life lesson”. I finally came up with a decision: I’d practice at school.

The school had many pianos but only a few in tune. Within a few days of searching, I headed off to a music room at every available opportunity. I loved finding new pianos in hidden corners of the school and spent hours practicing.

As my exam drew near, all the music teachers knew to look for me in the piano rooms after school. In anticipation of my assessment, one of my music teachers let me perform for her as a mini practice exam. To my surprise, she was greatly impressed.

Music had never been the love of my life but that was changing. When I played, my worries about how others judged me and how I viewed myself merged to reveal who I really am. All my adolescent thoughts made me feel like I was in a cage, but music gave me the key.

Within a few months I went from not caring about my playing to feeling actually kind of proud of my work. In my favorite, soundproof music room, I discovered that behind the piano, I could become anyone. Talking to other people never came easy to me, but I was able to express myself through music. I became overjoyed.

When the time came to play in front of an examiner, all the anxiety I had about going up on stage dimmed, and all I could think about was the marvelous journey I’d had to get here. Trilling the keys reminded me of the bittersweet music experiences of past years and my happiness nowadays.

Many days later, I received my mark—a rarely mentioned “well done”.

Now whenever I get caught up in the daily struggle, I remember the hard work that it took to reach my goal. Whenever I feel discouraged, I never forget to look at the gleaming keys of my new upright piano. As my father always says, some lessons are just learned the hard way.

4 . A famous philosopher said, “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” Travelling can provide different experience and ______ our horizons.

Last year, I enrolled in a summer vocal(唱歌) institute at Westminster Choir College of Rider University in New Jersey, US. There I truly experienced the kindness and warmth of people all over the world ______ their skin color, language or nationality.

As a ______ who knew little about the place, I worried and was extremely cautious about everything. I didn’t dare to talk with anyone. ______, with the help of others I got over my embarrassment. I remembered that when I first ______ the classroom, the students gave me a warm welcome. I began to ______.

Later, they even held a party for me, which also showed their _____. They talked about various topics ______China, such as the Great Wall, kungfu, the giant panda and Chinese cuisine. I was surprised to find that they had great ______ about Chinese culture. The more we ______, the more relaxed and confident I became. I felt at home with the ______ topics.

Maybe it was the great atmosphere or the fact that I wanted them to know more about China that ______ me to sing Chinese songs for them. With their applause, I realized that it was a ______ beginning of my time in a foreign country.

Apart from their warmth, their ______ music impressed me a lot: Whenever you went to the studio, you would find someone playing a musical instrument or singing. It was like entering a world of music. Music was a(n)______ theme for them. They loved it and ______ every chance to play it. In such a purely musical ______ , my own attachment to music became even ______. I played music more often and exchanged ideas with everyone who was interested in. I fell completely in love with music.

Time flew. ______ I knew it, the visit was over. But it was an extraordinary experience. It taught me to be more open-minded and more ______ about my culture. In the future, I will explore and embrace this world bravely as well as enjoy the further study in music.