I got my start as a music teacher in December 2002, shortly after graduating college. My good friend Ian, who I was living with at the time, recommended me to the owner at Allegro Music in Fremont when an opening for a piano teacher popped up on Fridays. (Ian is an outstanding guitarist; he taught for many years at Allegro. He now lives in Oregon with his wife and their three children.) I never had any desire to teach. I fell into this work backwards, and it took me some years to fully embrace the job. My teaching position at Allegro has been vital in this journey - a key signpost in the progression to who I am today. At my peak, I was teaching four days a week at the store. In more recent years I have been teaching two days a week in Fremont: Mondays and Tuesdays. During the 2011-12 school year I pared my Allegro schedule down to a single day: Mondays. Today was my final day teaching at Allegro. I have been there for nine and a half years. Through many ups and downs,