It was somewhere during my moms college years, when she went to see this man perform on stage with the violin. She loved it, and she wanted her own son to play the violin too. So at the age of 7, when I started grade school, my mom signed me up for violin lessons. Back in Malaysia everyone in my music school had grades that determined their level in their instrument. Everyone starts at grade 1, and every year, there would be exams that you need to pass to move on to the next grade. My teacher was a very encouraging man, and I was never hesitant to ask a question. I was the type of kid who barely practice, and its only on the exams when I really thrive and sweat. In every exam practice, my mom would be coaching me, and critisizing my play. There was never an exam where I didn't end up in tears. But it wasn't because of how harsh my mother was, not that she ever was, but it was because of fustration and anger everytime she critisizes me. She always watched videos of other people playing the same songs as me, and got me to play along with them. My score for my first exam started off with an unsatisfactory 79%, or a C. But as I picked up on the violin more and more over the years, my grades went higher and higher everytime. My proudest exam moments was when I scored a total of 96%, also being the highest score that any 6th grade violin player in the school has gotten. I also won a purple ribbon, handed to me by the examination board, that had my name on it, and the words, A+ honor. Taking exams and improving my skills in the violin wasn't the only thing I did, but when I was younger, we had recitals every year, and I would perform in them everytime. I also joined an orchestra group that performs occasionally, and donates all the ticket money to charity. I had alot of fun with my fellow group members, and I always looked forward to every practice with them. There was a time when I joined my first violin competition. A group called Euro Asia, came to our city and hosted the competition for us. The competition was divided into our age groups, and I was put into the Junior group. Even after the many performances that I did in the past years, I was especially nervous with this part of my violin life. But all my sweat and tears over the past 2 months of practising the same song can't be for nothing. In the end, I won 2nd place in the competition, making my parents and my teacher very proud. But, as the time for me to leave Malaysia came, I had to leave my group orchestra. The hardest person to leave behind was my teacher. He was always so full of enthusiasm, and encouragement. Through the years, he became more than just a teacher to me, but more as a friend. He has been with me for 7 years, and leaving him was difficult. Although we are still in contact through modern technology, it's still different from seeing him in person. I am currently in the 7th grade in violin, and I joined an orchestra group that perormed more difficult pieces than the old one. I left my past, and I'm ready for new things to come to me.