Reality Checks

Day 41
Student teaching is rough on some days with different classes.  Today the kindergarten classes were giving me a run for my money.  I was introducing a new lesson and it wasn't going very smoothly.  They wouldn't listen to instructions, sit still, or remember to raise their hand if they wanted to talk.  It was hard fighting them the whole time while trying to get them to learn something.  My trumpet lesson didn't go so great either.  I seem to be in this annoying routine of having a really awesome lesson, then a not-so-good lesson when I need to be improving EVERY week.  My senior recital check is in about eight weeks but I really only have six more formal lessons until then.  Ouch. 
I thought about the day on the drive home and realized that it's going to be a continuous learning experience with those kindergarten kids every day.  I'm still figuring out their names, what works for each class, and how to come up with a Plan B in case my original lesson doesn't follow through.  I need to explore different methods and what I could do better to grab their attention for those quick twenty minutes of music class.  I also thought through my trumpet lesson and what needed to happen if I want to prove myself as a competent trumpet player.  My trumpet professor told me I am my own worst enemy when it comes to my playing abilities because I don't lift myself up when I practice nor do I think positively about the harder passages.  I need to work on building my confidence in my trumpet playing and every other area of life, it seems. 
Thanks, God, for the two-fold reality check today.  I must have really needed it.  Please help me gain self-confidence so that I can serve you better through my teaching and my playing.