To the orchestra teacher who took my viola away in the 7th grade:

Photo Cred. Bowen Lan

As if my mothers did not already give you a talking to that you’ll never forget back then when it happened, I thought you should know: You lost. You lost when you thought public schools would always value your job; you lost when you spat in the face of the funding that paid for the instrument you took away from my hands; you lost when you told a black girl what she couldn’t do and thought it would stick. 

I’m sure you figured you taught me a lesson: Not to be too passionate, too ambitious, to do what I’m told within the parameters Im given. Maybe you thought you were teaching me time management when I sat in class with no instrument, while the other students prepared for the concert I wouldn’t participate in. You helped everyone tune their instruments but left mine in the closet and didn’t allow me to get it. I bet you thought you were teaching me about commitment... you didn’t. 

What you taught me was that art always wins, despite the systems it’s forced to operate in. I got my own my viola today. Took over 10 years but my 25 year old hands still know her, like old friends separated but determined to meet again... like you were determined to underestimate me. Again, let me reiterate: you lost.