Quarter-life crisis

Days like these make me question my sense of direction. "The President's Own" Marine Corps Band came and performed for VT yesterday, and today I sat in on a brass quintet master class by members of the same band. Afterward I spoke to two of the musicians about playing marches, inducing dynamic interest when outdoors, and various other things that no one I know would really care about. A bunch of motivators made it out to the concert, and a very small number came to the clinics and masterclasses available today. I wish we had the time and passion to accomplish what a profession band could. But I guess that defeats our main mission of getting a college degree. Decisions decisions...

Hearing professional musicians live usually elicits two simultaneous responses from me- Joy and remorse. Hearing these concerts makes me so happy and yet very sad. At the end of High School I thought that I knew that I didn't want to make music performance my profession. But the path I've chosen at VT and the feelings that I get when I see these amazing spectacles of music cause me to second guess myself time and time again.

Maybe I'll use my GI bill to go to post-grad for music...

:)

Less is More

So you want something good. Something hard to get. and you yourself must be good to earn it. But of course if you do too well, you may overshoot. Or maybe not overshoot, just slice to the side a bit. So then comes the challenge, the balancing act. You have to make it extremely evident that you are perfect in one aspect, but damn near worthless in every other. Not so hard right? Just be good at being awful. Kiss the right babies and shake the wrong hands. Speak the truth and hope that the people in the big chairs interpret it correctly. Or incorrectly. Whatever gets the job done.

Recently someone asked me for some advice in a bureaucratic situation. I told them that what they thought was wrong and that what they didn't think was also wrong. I ended the conversation telling them that they knew nothing, and therefore, they knew everything.

That person left with a confused look on their face. Can't imagine why.