2 minute read
Believe in a dream
By Sandy Xu, Class of 2021
Sandy took piano lessons virtually with her MLC Music teachers, while at home in China during 2020 and 2021.
The sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 denied me the opportunity to return to Melbourne, from China, to say goodbye. For a moment, I didn’t know where my future lay.
In Year 10, I still remember laughing and talking with my friends and my teachers at MLC. However, suddenly facing Year 11, all seemed empty: no textbooks, no teachers, no students around me.
Because of the pandemic, I completed my VCE as an MLC student completely online. It was easy to complain about it, but somehow I also looked forward to it. I always believed in my dream, and a dream can give me a lot of power. I believe that no matter what, whether I am in school, or far away, if I work hard, I will succeed. Therefore, I challenged myself. Even while in online classes, I listened carefully to what the teacher said and asked questions when I didn’t understand, or I communicated with the teacher in one-to-one catch up lessons after class. I used my free periods to review what my teachers said, and actively participated in class discussions. As a VCE Music Performance student, I also spent a lot of time practicing the piano. I am very grateful that MLC provided me with flexible online subjects, which enabled me to keep up with my study from China. I particularly liked the one-to-one appointments arranged by the school, which allowed the support staff to check-in about my physical and mental health. Along with daily practice, I had my piano lessons once a week, all online. Many beautiful things on the piano - sound quality, sound colour, volume, pedal, phrasing and so on - cannot be easily transmitted between teachers and students in a virtual classroom. Looking back at this experience through 2020 and 2021, it was really unique. In December 2021, I won first prize in the Final Round of the Melbourne International Youth Music Festival Piano Competition, and received an offer from The University of Melbourne to study a Bachelor of Music. I feel very honoured. This will be a new journey in my life, and I have a long way to go. Of course, there is no end to learning. I will bring my love for music and life into every day in the future. I would like to thank all the teachers and students I met at MLC, with special thanks to Mr Shade, Mrs Pham, Ms Fattore, Ms Jamble, Dr Bailey Smith, Mr Liu and Ms Hohmann for their support.
Sandy impressively received first place in the final round of the prestigious Melbourne International Youth Music Festival Piano Competition in 2021.
