Hi Everybody,
I have a question for you guys and I promise the answer will eventually bring you happiness if you find it. What are you passionate about? For me, the answer is music. I am a singer/songwriter and I play piano (and I’m currently learning drums). I am not receiving income for it yet, but I plan to eventually make that a reality. In high school, I didn’t really know what it was I wanted to go into. My family drilled into my head being a musician was not an option and that I needed to go to school for something that made a lot of money. I listened because I didn’t know any better and went to school for Electrical Engineering.
Electrical Engineering is a tough college curriculum (even tougher when you’re not passionate about it). I put a lot of time into keeping my grades up and when I wasn’t in school, I was interning for a company in the auto industry. That resulted in me not playing as much when I first started college. About half way through my college career, music’s call got too strong and I had to integrate music back into my life. I did this by getting a minor in Music. It added a semester to my time in college, but it was very much worth it.
Fast forward to about 14 months after I graduated college. I’m working as an engineer for a company, but the job is very time intensive and does not allow time for other things. I was stressed, overworked, and putting almost all of my time into something that I really didn’t care about. I came to the conclusion that I would rather feel stressed and overworked about something I’m passionate about than something I don’t care about at all. Because of that, I’m working on a plan to eventually quit my current job and become a full-time musician (likely with a different job that allows me more time when I first start off).
Now we’re at present day. Since I decided I was going to become a musician, I have gone back to school for mixing/mastering music, started taking piano and drum lessons, taken classes about artist management and songwriting, and read multiple books regarding songwriting. I even joined a choir. I did all these things at one time or another while working and it is HARD! There are many late nights and Monster in my life (I’m actually writing this late in the night), but I have never been happier. I’m going to work my way towards my goal and achieve it. When I do make the leap to become a musician, I know I’ll be okay.
The point I’m trying to make is this: When you stray from your path, you get weak. In a sense, I tried multiple times to ignore what it was I was passionate about and I regretted it dearly each time. So if you can find what you’re passionate about and pursue it with everything you have, I guarantee you will find a happiness and resolve in yourself you never knew was there.
If you made it this far, thank you so much for taking the time to read my email! If anyone wants to talk about songwriting, music, hear some music I’ve done, or maybe even share some music you’ve done, send me an email and I’d love to talk to you! I’m always down for meeting other musicians. Who knows? If the vibes are right, maybe we could even collaborate on something.
Until the next downbeat,
R
Richar Young
Michigan
[email protected]