I struggled with piano for two or three years to make Mom happy but, like you, I wanted to be outside. I just didn’t see the point in it. My Mom was excellent, too.
Got to college and a fraternity brother was a tremendous player. He could play a song note-perfect after listening to it just once. It was the most amazing thing. The room really lit up when he sat down to play!
As I got older, I realized how much I had missed by giving it up. Now I really enjoy listening to contemporary piano players like Jim Brickman, George Winston, Gary Girouard, Brian Crain, Michael Jones, Suzanne Ciani, Yann Tiersen (Comptine d’un autre été) and many others.
I was the same. Sitting through lessons while a kid would have been torture. Now I wish I had tried it. If I had a piano I would give it a try.
My cousin is a prodigy. He never had lessons and doesn’t read music but has been playing beautifully since he was big enough to sit on the bench and reach the keys. All he has to do is hear something one time and he can sit down and play it. I’d love to have talent like that.