Reflecting on 2019

In the midst of the craziness of holidays and winter break and also just the natural chaos that happens as we wind down (or up!) in December, it seemed fitting to write another reflection post as 2019 was a big, big, big year for us at TPSMTS!

1. In May, we had Jane join our TPSMTS team as a music therapist/teacher!
2. We capped off our incredible 2018-2019 year with not three, but FOUR end-of-the-year party and recitals in June. This year, we’ll get to continue with that as our recitals grow in number and in talent!
3. Right after recitals, we moved to our new studio! For our students, clients, and their families, thank you for being so incredible during this move and for making this transition a smooth one. We’re so excited to be in our new space and be able to provide even more services to you, including…
4. We ran out first ever music group sessions this summer! Gabriella hosted for the first time and it was fantastic. It is our goal to offer more groups in 2020 — stay tuned!
5. In August, two of our associates were promoted – Silvia as the Senior Music Therapist & Administrative Assistant and Gabriella as our Senior Music Teacher!
6. We welcomed Yu Kwei as she joined the team as a new music therapist/teacher!
7. September kicked off our 2019-2020 school year!
8. Two of our associates became newly NMT certified, which means our entire music therapy team are all certified in Neurologic Music Therapy!
9. We re-branded and gave our website a refresh!
10. One of our social media posts went viral and reached over 170,000 people on Facebook. We also joined Instagram!

As this year comes to a busy but hopefully positive close, we hope to encourage you to celebrate the wins as much as we may groan or mourn with the losses. Life is very much made up of the highs and lows, just as we often find in our musical learning process and practice. There will always be good and bad days, but we hope to help you reflect upon the year and to hold tight to the things we can be grateful about.

For example, some questions that you may want to try asking yourself (inspired by https://www.2civility.org/self-reflections-for-new-year):

• What can I give myself credit for this year? What has happened that I can take ownership of and be proud of? What was a win that I can call mine?

• What mistakes did I learn from this year? What mistakes did I make and did I learn from them? If not, how can I learn from them now before the year ends? Is there anything I can do as a response of recognizing those mistakes?

• What stuff can I let go of this year? Is there anything that has been a weight for you to carry? Is there anything you should or can say ‘no’ to?

• What am I grateful for? Practice gratitude! Practice thankfulness. There are so many reasons why our first reaction to things may usually be blame, defence, or avoid. How about practicing gratitude towards the little things in your life?

• How can I practice self-care before this year ends? Can I take that bath that I’ve been wanting to take? Is there an evening where I can go and take that dance class? Is there somebody I could really use a coffee date with?

I hope that we all take a moment to reflect upon at least one of these questions. This winter time can be such a time of thankfulness and gratitude for the year and we are so thankful towards our families and our clients/students for trusting us with their time and themselves.

We hope that all of our students, clients, and their families stay safe, healthy and joyful during the winter break. We can’t wait to see you all again in January when lessons/sessions resume!