When I Fall
I was recently back east for a family reunion. We are a quirky, loud, funny group and it’s always the highlight of my year when we are all together, however, since it’s only once a year we get to see each other, the questions come rolling in like a bowling ball headed fast for the middle pin. “You’re in Nashville pursuing music?! So Cool!”, “Are you famous yet?”, “What steps do you take to become a musician?”. Now, like I said, I adore my family and I would ask the same questions if I were in their shoes but since I’m in my own shoes, I can say that it can be overwhelming and sometimes frustrating to explain the same thing over and over. How do you tell someone in a concise way (because we all know at crowded events like that you have about 30-60 sec to say anything before another person comes into the conversation) what it means to be in the music business? Well folks, I’m not going to try to tell you because it’s different for everyone, but if there is one word that I would use to describe the business, it would be resiliency.
I’ve only been in town about 9 months now and already I’ve taken some blows to my self esteem, to my music, and to my bank account. But, each time I have chosen to think about what happened, wallow in self pity for about an hour, think about what I could have done differently, and then go right back out there and continue pushing forward. In church a few weeks ago the pastor said that “We don’t always get to choose what happens to us, but we do get to choose how we respond” and that is as real as it gets. How boring would the stories be in songs if everything always went right? Nobody would listen!
For each set back, I have to believe there was a reason for it. I still believe more than anything that the music business is where I belong. Being an artist is what I live for. People have told me that if there is anything else in the world you could see yourself doing, then do that and get out of the music industry, but if music is the only thing you want to do, then stay and give it everything you’ve got. When something bad happens to me I tell myself that it will make a great story or song down the road. So for all of you out there struggling with something or someone, know that it’s ok to fall but treat that ground like a trampoline and let it bounce you back up a better person.