I do not give up easily.
That said, I have given up things in the past. I stopped learning an instrument which I learnt for nine years as a kid but gave up because the teacher was manipulating not just me but people around me. And even though I was only fourteen, I got tired of it. And imagine, the teacher was a nun. She had her good days but she was definitely not my favourite teacher. My second teacher and fourth were my favourites (first was my sister but I she may not remember that). Sadly, I do not play that instrument anymore. I can still read notes, recognise what people play etc. but I cannot play chords, scales and all those things. Maybe if I practice I can, but genuinely I cannot. I hope to get back to it when I live at home some day. But it is lower on my list of priorities.
The next thing I quit was something I started doing when I was six and went on till I was eleven/twelve. To be fair, I did do it even before I started formally learning it. Once again, I quit because of problems with the teacher. However, it was because the teacher was being incredibly mean to my sister and I was (and would like to believe that I still am) very loyal to my sister. I did not like anyone being mean to her or anyone who troubled her or made her cry. That said, this is something I miss so much. Even though it has been ages since I gave up on it. I miss it and very few people in the world even know that I have such interests. I hope I muster up the courage and faith to go back to formal learning of this form or atleast some other form of it. I do not regret walking out of that class but I do to an extent feel bad that I never tried getting back to it (I am very conscious when it comes to my body, and that probably had to do with it)
Quitting these two times also taught me in a way that quitting may mean never having that opportunity again and therefore I do try my best not to quit.
I am almost close to quitting something I chose to do lately but I reminded myself of these two times and I think I will not quit. Not until I absolutely must and have to.
The next part,
I always thought that we weren't taught the instrument I learnt back home very well. We were way too conventional. And even as a kid (while I was the most conventional person you could probably come across) I did not like conventional learning or teaching. An important part of conventional teaching emphasises the importance of 'not unlearning' (excuse the double negative). However, as I have learnt over the years it is absolutely important to have the ability to unlearn something and be open to a new way of learning it. This is applicable to skills, languages, instruments...just about anything. I tend to get rigid occasionally mainly because of the comfort level that familiar rules/techniques give you. But I make it a point to remember that unlearning makes you understand learning better and makes it a better lesson. This is applicable even to life.
On that note, hope you learn, unlearn, not give up and keep trying.
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