Cherry Juliana
ENG102
Essay #1 Revision
07/09/2005
Sudartono, 1
The girl named Ywenna
Even though it was 5 pm, the air was still hot and humid. The school
compound was deserted for classes were finished earlier. I was walking down the
hallway preparing to leave the school when I heard someone playing our school’s
piano. I wondered who could be staying at school until this time of the day. My
curiosity got the better of me and I climbed up the stairs and walked towards a
small hall where the piano was stored. I peeped into the room from the opened
window, and found a fair-skinned girl, sitting in front of the piano, playing and
singing at the same time. She looked up and found that I was staring at her. She
gave me a sweet smile. That was the first time I met Ywenna Lim. The day I met
her, was a turning point in my life. Like a big sister, she thought me how to
appreciate my talent.
Ywenna brought music into my life. After that incident, I stayed behind at
school nearly every day just to listen to Ywenna’s soothing piano voice. I got to
know her better during these meeting sessions. She is two years older than I am,
hoping to get a diploma in music and was hoping to take Fashion Management in
college. She is gentle, yet she is determined. She is also very passionate; one
could always see that from the way she play her pieces. It was as if she poured all
her soul into the piano.
One day, she caught me humming to her music. She told me that I have a great
sense of picking up music and that I have a lovely voice. I didn’t believe her, but
Sudartono, 2
she patiently guided me to believe that I was blessed and that I should use my
talent to my greatest advantage. She explained to me how talents are usually
buried inside oneself and if one does not dig it up, it will never be exposed. She
always said, “You will never know, until you try.”
Even though I was not convinced thoroughly, I followed her advice and signed
up for the school annual singing competition. As we started practicing everyday, I
found that I was enjoying myself more and more. I started to neglect my
homework and my grades started to drop. Being one of the top ten students, this
concerned my teachers a lot. They found out that I was practicing too much for
the singing competition and tried to discourage me from competing. I was hurt
because they tried to take away something that I had grown to enjoy so much. I
told Ywenna about it. Upon hearing this, she gave me her sweet smile and told me
that it was my fault for neglecting my work. She stopped our practice and told me
to catch up with my work instead. She even helped me to study for the quizzes,
which I haven’t been paying attention to. My grades increased and I was then
allowed to compete again.
Slowly but surely my bond with Ywenna became stronger. On the day of the
competition, I was nervous even though people had been telling me that I was
clearly the favorite. Ywenna came to me and gave me a small hug. And that was
all it took to make me calm. I was pronounced winner at the end of the event and
as I stood on the stage receiving my prize, I looked at Ywenna and saw immense
Sudartono, 3
pride on her face. I knew in that instant that a new world has been opened for me,
merely by the girl Ywenna.