Eric's Story Series: "Finding My Inner Child"

     It was Friday in the summer of 2004. I left my work early and went picking up my son. It’s a quarter to six when I arrived at the school gate. I knew where to find him - the gym. When I opened the door, I was met with very loud music coming from a radio on the floor. There were a bunch of boys playing basket ball and girls playing tag. But my eyes quickly zeroed in on a small boy in sweatshirt. He’s obviously dancing ... to the music. The music was kind of mixed rap and rock with lots of beats and keys, sharps and flats. He’s like this elastic boy with every part of his body moving - high and low, fast and slow, hard and strong, soft and gentle - not all artistic but the coordination was perfect. I can tell he’s meeting his own inner child and completely ignoring the rest of the world. When he finally slid down to his knees stretching his arms in the air, I saw his face and I was shocked ... that was my own little boy - but not the one I knew. The one I knew was like me, self conscious, quiet and shy. At that moment I was deeply touched by that beautiful scene, knowing my son had found his inner child, he’s free to express his feelings, and he’s really, really happy.

      Ladies and gentlemen, there’s an inner child inside each one of you. You can pretend he’s not there, but pretending doesn’t make him go away. As you grow into your 20s, 30s and 40s of age, your inner child will not grow and will still feel the same way you felt when you were a small child. You realize that your inner child wants to play all the time. But you have been blocking him for a long time. Every time he wants to play you pull him back: no, you will make me look stupid in front of people. You fear, you worry, you panic.

      Fast forward to June 18, 2011. Holy ... that was yesterday. We went to our son’s piano contest. Out of 11 contestants, I could tell by their last names, 6 were Chinese. Not surprising, hah? The seating was arranged in the order of performance. My son was the second contestant. Tianyao had won several awards and scholarships in the last. But this time he hadn’t practice well. And the lack of practice showed. After a few mistakes, we were almost certain he could only get "participation award". The 4th, 6th, and 10th contestants were very good with near perfect performance. When no. 10 went back to her seat, I noticed she was the last child sitting next to a man in his 40s, who’s probably her dad ... I thought. Well, that was it, no. 11 didn’t show up. Then something amazing happened. When the adjudicator asked for no. 11, Joe Vo, that gentleman stood up. He went to the stage with a sign of shyness. I was shocked! Everybody in the room was chocked! Who, at such an age, would place himself in a group of  children playing piano in front of a crowd? While my mind was wondering what kind of inner child this man has inside I almost wanted to cry. Joe was playing Richard Clayderman’s Mariage D'amour. He frowned a little bit when he struck the first key on the piano. But when the music started to flow, he felt the excitement all over him. Folks, I could clearly see his inner child coming out and dancing on the black-and-white keys of that little grand. It was a beautiful scene that would touch every person of my age. The finishing note was absolutely stunning and followed by a long pause before his hands left the piano keys and he rose to his feet. The audience burst into a long, loud applause. I found my tears welled up in my eyes!