Student quit today

Hey folks. I’m a guitar teacher of 10 years, I run my own business and travel to homes to provide lessons as well as after school group guitar classes. I received a text from a student’s parent today informing me that they were discontinuing lessons and moving forward with a different teacher that offers more opportunities for performances. I’ve had this student for 4 years and truly enjoyed my time with him, he reminds me so much of my nephew who lives in another state and I really looked forward to our lesson each week. We formed a strong bond and it’s hitting me pretty hard that I’ll likely never see him again. It’s not the first time I’ve lost a student, and it’s always sad, but this particular kid I’m just feeling so down about, and wanted to reach out to others who may have experienced something similar. It’s a tough part of the job, to build connections and potentially lose them. It’s more than just a paycheck to me. Anyway, just wanted to share because I don’t have many other teacher friends in my life to talk to.

I am curious, if you’re also a private teacher, how often do you hold recitals?

Thanks for reading my sob story! The beat goes on. 🤙

EDIT thank you all so much for your kind and thoughtful words/stories! It has truly helped me process this situation and I feel much better. The internet can be a magnificent thing once in a while.