學習書法篇 ~ 我的問題 Learning Chinese calligraphy ~ My problem

這個週末趁有空很用心在家練習書法，因為明天要上課，怕沒有功課交給老師看。
This weekend I've been working hard at home practising Chinese calligraphy as I have classes tomorrow and need to make sure I have homework to show my teacher.

最近開始寫唐詩，覺得比以前寫單字難很多，因為需要把詩裡的每個字也寫到有連貫性，一氣呵成。
Recently, I've started learning poems from the Tang dynasty. It's much harder than writing single words as you have to make sure all the words in the poem are consistent and the final works looks as a whole.

相比去年，我知我還需要作出更多努力。話說，去年底時我比較忙，差不多兩個月沒有上書法課，但是我一直在家也很努力練習。儘管如此，我總是覺得沒有什麼進步，寫出來的字還是有點不對。
Compared to last year, I know I definitely need to work much harder. Last year, due to Christmas and holidays, I couldn't make Chinese calligraphy classes for nearly two months. Having said that, I had been practising at home, but despite my best efforts, I still felt I wasn't making much progress, and the words just didn't look right.

最後我認為我發現了原因，毛筆用了好幾個月，筆尖開始分叉，所以字寫得不好。正所謂工欲善其事，必先利其器。這說話沒有錯啊。於是下次上課時，我把毛筆給老師看。
In the end I think I figured out what the problem was. The tip of my pen was starting to split, and they do say you need the right tools to do a good job. It made perfect sense. So during the next class, I showed the teacher my pen.

我 : 老師，我覺得我需要一只新毛(還謙虛地加一句)，還是我的問題啊？
老師 : (看毛筆一眼，然後望著我)，問題是你啊！毛筆非常好！

Me : Teacher, I think I need a new pen, (and just to be polite) or do you think the problem is with me?
Teacher : (took one look at the pen and then looked at me) The problem is with you! The pen is perfect!