The Greatest Possession (我是母親予我上大的資產) By Tom Su

[李秀]

--- For my mother Lee Hsiu---(Translated by Lee Hsiu)

In April 2005, I traveled with my professor and my schoolmates to Braga in the Czech Republic for a week-long seminar. While there, I often went to Vltava to enjoy the emotional music of Bedrich Smetana, who is the composer of “Ma Valst”. As I Lingered on the river bank, I would inevitably sing the melody of “Ma Valst”. I have always had a great passion for all classic music. However while I was visiting the Czech Republic, I suddenly realized that my intangible treasure, “Mother gave me the greatest possession not a large amount of money and not any other kind of material wealth as well, but she taught me to have a great appreciation for all the arts.”

Actually, my training in music started while my mother was pregnant with me, because she played the piano every day. Later, I had no choice when she arranged my first violin lesson at the age of five. Several decades passed, and even though I gave up the violin many times, my hands always wanted to pick up the bow and strings again. It was as if unseen fingers, like an idle breeze, continued played to music in my heart until I had to play again.

From Taiwan to England, from Switzerland to Canada, I went from majored in music to studying hotel management until now I am an MBA student at University of Victoria but still the violin is follow me. Even though music has not always been my major subject, I have been a musical guide for my co-workers at the Taipei Hotel and now I am a musical mentor at University of Victory. Therefore, my musical interest has become everybody’s interest.

Now that I am over thirty years old, I am thinking about myself and looking back on my mother at the same age as I am now and the way I saw her when I was child. I find out that I resemble her so much except her unsteady temperament! At the moment, although she is over sixty years old, she is very diligently studying English all the time. Once I was permitted in her classroom to watch their difficult course. I detected that, not only are her classmates all younger than me, but also her age wasn’t a factor in the interaction. She didn’t want special treatment because of her age. Likewise, I also didn’t let classmates or professors know about my musical background, because they would doubt my ability to learn subjects, such as statistics, financial business and enterprise strategies. Certainly, mathematical logic courses are a big job for a musical student.

Every thing my mother did to care for me and my sister expressed her music of love. Her writing has always focused on family relationships and her infinite love for her children. All her work has been infused with the music of love and now all her efforts are finally being rewarded. First, several years ago, my sister studied the cello at Boston Conservatory and now she is a musical teacher. Second, my cousin earned a PhD in piano at Oklahoma University – my mother was her first piano teacher. Of course, I myself am a violinist whenever I can perform for people who like music.

Mother turned on the first light transferring into gold every cloud of doubt or confusion in our musical studies, and she scattered gems of achievement in profusion. Mother’s goals are always high; her ambition is strong as well. As she says “You can do whatever you want to do, if you really want to do it”, and me, I want to follow her as I face my own journey of life!

－Written in Vancouver－