First Post

I made this blog for many reasons. Here are some:
#1 I might be able to help people who will read it.
#2 People I know will understand me better.
#3 It will probably improve my writing and prepare me for college where I'll be writing all the time.
#4 I think it will be fun.

This blog is called All the Fuss because my nickname is Fuss. Most of the time. I have many nicknames, such as Jack, Ally, Leela and Olivia.

But Fuss is my main nickname. When I was a baby I threw up all the time and was constantly fussy.

Fuss should not be confused with 'Fuzz'.

I've been playing the piano since the fall of 2005, so for about 4 and a half years now. I had always begged my parents for piano lessons since I was very little. I used to call it 'pianto'. I enjoy playing very much and I want to go to college for piano performance. Many people have said I'm very talented. One kind old lady said I was a child prodigy, but I know she was wrong. First of all, I wasn't that good. And also I always considered prodigies as geniuses. But for a couple years I got 'talent' and 'genius' mixed up. I tried pushing myself saying, "So and so was amazing at my age! I stink. I need to try harder."

One day I was reading Little Women again. I was at the part when Laurie goes to Europe after Jo denies him. Laurie asks Jo's sister, Amy, when she will begin her great works.

"Never," she answered with a despondent but decided air. "Rome took all the vanity out of me, for after seeing the wonders there, I felt too insignificant to live and gave up all my foolish hopes in despair."

"Why should you, with so much energy and talent?"

"That's just why - because talent isn't genius, and no amount of energy can make it so."

And so on. Genius is rare. Amy wanted to be the best artist in the world, and I wanted to be the best pianist. I then knew that would never happen. I am now okay with not being the best.

Mozart and Rachmaninoff are my favorite composers, even though their music is quite different.

Mozart was a genius. In everything he wrote, you can tell. He wrote his first symphony when he was 8. At the time his father was ill and the house had to be completely quite. So little Wolfgang wrote the symphony without a keyboard. That is just crazy.

Rachmaninoff is awesome. A lot of his works are in minor, but his music doesn't really sound sad. It sounds beautiful. I absolutely love his Prelude in C# Minor. When you hear it, it feels like it's eating away at you. It consumes you.

A few years ago I didn't want to like Mozart because everyone did, and I wanted more people to be fond of Rachmaninoff. I didn't want to listen to any of his music. But one day I looked up his opera  The Magic Flute on YouTube (out of curiosity) and it killed my previous thoughts of him. (I also said I would never like opera) I loved it. I walked around the house trying to sing like the Queen of the Night. Then I bought the CD. I pretty much memorized the whole thing.

Then I thought if I liked The Magic Flute so much, maybe I would enjoy Le Nozze Di Figaro ( The Marriage of Figaro ) I did. Then I enjoyed Don Giovanni. By then my family knew I loved Mozart, so my grandparents bought a thing of 5 CDs consisting of some of his chamber music, music for piano, concertos, serenades and symphonies. Mozart was now tied with Rachmaninoff.

I first got greatly interested in music when my Moo bought me Meet the Great Composers. It's a workbook that contains small biographies of, as you already know, great composers, and a CD. That CD made me love music so much more. Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C# Minor was on there and I enjoyed it so much, I bought some more Rachmaninoff CDs. I had great respect for anyone who could play his music. Haha.

Right now I am working on Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag, Ernesto Lecuona's Malaguena nad Robert Schumann's Papillons. In the near future my piano teacher wants me to learn Edward MacDowell's To a Wild Rose,  Ludvig van Beethoven's Sonata Pathetique and Sergei Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C# Minor. I am very excited.

I call my dad 'Dado' and my mom 'Moo'.

I've never understood why people like Pride and Prejudice so much. I think it's a good story, the writing isn't so amazing. I watched the movie once, didn't really understand it, read the book, didn't really like it, then watched the movie again. Recently I tried giving it another chance. I made up my mind that I would read every single word of it, but it didn't hold my interest. I don't think Jane Austen gives her characters enough 'character'. I definitely prefer Little Women.

I've literally read Little Women about 50 times. My paperback copy looks like it survived a fire, a flood, and a handful of toddlers. I had to tape the front cover back on, or else the beginning of the book would end up like the end. The back cover is completely gone, as well as some the last pages. But I do have a very nice hardback copy that my friend Meghan gave me. That was one of the most thoughtful gifts anyone has ever given me.

Meghan is one of my best friends. We've known each other for about 5-6 years. She is 2 years older than me and is also homeschooled. Later as the blog goes on you will understand the characters of all my friends.

Speaking of friends, homeschoolers are not socially challenged! They also do 'get out in the world', probably more than public schoolers. My best friends are Emily, Meghan, Ruth, Naomi, Audrey and Aleigha. Emily's brother, Dan, was also my best friend. I will tell about him later in the blog.


Well, I am done with the 1st post of my new blog! I will write the 2nd post soon.