What does it take for someone who doesn't swim to dive into the ocean?
What does it take for someone who knows nothing about music to give a recital?
Inspired by the story of my friend - a pianist who was afraid of deep water and couldn't even paddle and kick in a swimming pool, taking swimming lessons and trying to obtain diving certification in order to fulfill her dream of volunteering for sea turtle & marine conservation projects, this is my mini "study" of the subject by using a striking analogy: the fear and panic for the unknown (the immensity of the ocean and what could have been waiting ahead of her once she dived in) can be very similar (if not equal) to how a non-musician would feel before reading a piece of music, playing a musical instrument, and/or trying to give a concert on the stage.
(Special thanks to the generosity of Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal)
*Postscript
On April 16th, 2019, she was 7000 miles away about to take her exam for scuba diving certification. I thought I was exploring FEAR, but it turned out, with the realization of this project, to really be about facing one's fear and the seemingly impossible things one can achieve when having the courage to overcome it.