My Guitar Journey: The Music of Growth by Miami

My Guitar Journey: The Music of Growth by Miami - May 2026 Scholarship Essay

From a young age, I loved singing and music. I sang every single day and eventually developed the ability to harmonize with my favorite songs. However, I never learned an instrument. Singing came so naturally to me, but piano or guitar felt overwhelming. I thought “I can never learn an instrument.”

Five years ago, I realized that playing an instrument can’t be as hard as I predicted. So, I began learning guitar with my dad. Every week I’d practice the same simple chords over and over again until they became second nature. I didn’t even need to think about it. However, until about a year ago, I avoided anything new. When I saw professional guitarists playing difficult chords like barre chords, I felt very discouraged. It seemed almost impossible to push down on all six strings at once with one finger. I believed that barre chords were just beyond my ability.

For a while, I lost motivation and only picked up my guitar occasionally to ensure I didn’t lose my calluses. But last year, I found myself playing almost every day. Playing the same chord progressions repeatedly became boring over time, so I decided to learn more chords, including barre chords. At first, they were extremely difficult, just like they were three years prior. However, as I gained confidence and learned techniques from professionals, I found that barre chords weren’t as impossible as they seemed. Now, I play them for almost every song, and it adds much more variety to my playing.

Even after so much progress, I almost never attempted finger picking. I felt very comfortable with my bag of strumming patterns, but plucking still seemed far more advanced. I admired classical guitarists and how their fingers just flutter when they play, but I assumed that I could never become as skilled as them.
As I listened to more music, I longed to be able to play fingerpicked songs, so I told myself to learn them. In the beginning, it was quite difficult to get my fingers to cooperate, but I practiced by watching tutorials and taking it step by step. Now, I make up my own picking patterns to my favorite songs and play them with ease.

Last month, I performed a song with strumming, barre chords, and fingerpicking for a talent show, and soon I will play another for my Abuelita’s birthday. I have come a long way from my singing days to this. Along the way, I have learned that I don’t need extreme talent to be successful. I just need consistency and a willingness to improve. Every skill that I have now was obtained through hours of practice and perseverance. I still have so much to learn about guitar, but I don’t see these new techniques as obstacles. Rather, they are challenges that will be overcome with time and effort.