Lisa Wilson Strick begins her essay with a comment from her son, and a list of activities she does badly, to help set up her contrasting views on how seriously one's hobbies should be taken. Throughout her essay, she continues to point out how competitive people are nowadays while participating in activities that were once solely for leisure, and how in the past everything was much simpler. Her response to her son's criticism on how badly she plays the piano shows that she cares more about having fun rather than worrying over how well she is progressing in her hobbies. That is what Strick believes should truly matter, and is the basis of her thesis.
