"There are two kinds of head fakes. The first is literal. On a football field, a player will move his head one way so you'll think he's going in that direction. Then he goes the opposite way. It's like a magician using misdirection. The second kind of head fake is the really important one - the one that teaches people things they don't realize they're learning until well into the process." - Randy Pausch

when i was young, like 3 or 4 years old, my mom enrolled me to learn how to play the piano like every other chinese kid. i LOVED it! everyone loves it at first. then slowly it became a drag. i only practiced day in day out to avoid my piano teacher's harsh criticisms that were borderline verbal abuse. i wanted to quit dearly at one point but my mom kept persisting and forcing me to the paino...6 of the 7 days in a week. i haven't even began to mention the dollars she forked out to pay my teacher who charged a rate of $30 something dollars an hour! finally one day she said "when you reach grade 12 in high school, i'll let you stop learning piano so that you can have more time to concentrate on your studies". for obvious reasons i think she felt disappointment but finally surrendered.

now approximately a decade after i've stopped playing i still don't really have much interest in the piano. sure i love music, but playing it on the piano...i probably only do it once a year now out of curiousity, boredom, or encouraging my little cousin to take interest and learn.

the truth is, i finally realize how much i actually learned in the process. i think my biggest acqusition in those 12 years was discipline. it set the foundation for my work ethic through high school, university, my job, and CMA - all in which i'd say i've been fairly successful. even though my mom may not know, she executed a great head fake.