Today I got to my theory class a little late, as did most of us. and my professor sat down and asked, “Why are you guys here? Where do you want to be after you get your masters, where should i look for you in 5 years? What’s your dream?”
And is started out as a fun little exercise as a few people answered and shared that they wanted to be teachers or open up their own studios or be a conductor. But then Dr. Olander slowly went around the room and asked every single person to share. And each person’s eyes lit up and they smiled and they spoke softly about what lead them to this school and what they wanted to do with their degree, what their interests are and how they wanted to use their degree to help others or spread music or make a difference.
Every person. 15+ people. It took nearly the whole class period. And Dr. Olander finished and said she was just curious and didn’t mean to take up the whole class talking about that, but she thought it was good to stop sometimes and remember why you’re here, where you’re going, who you are and what your dreams are.
I started crying in the middle of class bc it had been so long since i had stopped to remember why i love music and why i want a masters and how badly i want to use it to change people’s lives with music the way mine was.
So stop for a second. Don’t think about how much you’ve practiced this week, or your grades or your classes or scholarships or jobs or anything. Really stop. Stop and ask yourself,
Why am I here? Where do i want to be in 5 years? Why do I love this? What is my dream?
Remember who you are. Stop and dust your dreams off, and remember.