Welcome to my story

“But nobody else is going to put it right for me!

Nobody else is going to change my story!” – Matilda the Musical

I feel compelled to start a new blog. The last one I wrote was when I had finished my bachelor’s and started my venture in teaching. Bright-eyed and hopeful, I set out writing a blog with stories that would change the world and inspire all the other young movers and shakers in my profession. I started my previous blog with every intention of reaching this goal…and then I actually started teaching. I don’t mean to say that there weren’t any deep reflective moments or revelations that shook my foundation during that first year of teaching – I had those on a daily basis due to the situation I found myself experiencing. However, a blog that would spark the next Julie and Julia novel-turned-movie-starring-an-Oscar-winning-actress it was not. But I lived, I learned, and that was the important thing. And now we move on.

While I could write out the entire saga of my teaching career thus far, I’ll whittle it down to a quick life update:

·      I’ve been teaching for 4 years, and despite the eclectic collection of obstacles that have been thrown in front of me I still want to pursue this career. Music education is still valuable to the growth of the child, and those of us willing and able to teach it must still continue to fight past the hurdles and prove its worth to the less convinced minds. It’s becoming an increasingly difficult fight in the world of arts education, but I firmly believe that we can win it. Some may call it insanity; I call it Optimism with a Touch of Crazy.

·      I’m 25 years old but still have no hubby around to bring in the big bucks and help me make babies. Alas, I still have to resort to being an independent female that can support herself and carve her own path on the journey of life. When will my sugar daddy waltz his way down that path? Who knows, but until then I’m making my own magic happen.

·      Although I’m slowly in the pursuit of higher education, I have yet to earn my masters, doctorate, or any other accolade I can showcase on my office wall. I wholeheartedly value furthering ones education and pursuing greater career opportunities as a result. However, I still refuse to devote my time and efforts to another degree simply because people say it’s the “right” thing to do. If my heart isn’t in it, it’s not worth the pursuit (and if you don’t agree, please refer to the “Optimism a la Crazy” comment above).

·      Did I mention that I’m still only 25? While I would love to have everything “figured out”, I simply do not. I’ve actually grown to accept the unknown of the future more and more, embracing the beauty of the journey and giving less power to the unseen depths of my future. I highly suggest this way of living to any of my fellow 20-somethings…or all you 30-somethings, or 40-somethings…

You may have noticed the quote at the beginning of this post. I have always drawn a lot of strength and inspiration from quotes – I feel like most people out there can get a message across more eloquently than I can, so why would I not want to borrow their ideas? Today’s quote comes from “Naughty,” a song in the hopelessly adorable London musical Matilda. In her solo, the spunky girl refers to various tragic stories of literary characters and wonders why they didn’t just rewrite their stories. As an adult, my complex and jaded mind often interferes, claiming it’s impossible to change my fate. But if a child can make it sound so simple to change her situation, why can’t an adult? If I don’t like the way a part of my life is playing out, I can simply choose to rewrite it. Yet the hesitation comes from the realization that ones story cannot be done with just a few strokes of the “delete” button on the keyboard. It takes time, patience, a hell of a lot of dedication, and a little bit of luck and proper timing. Some days I feel ready to edit my life story; other days I get scared of the fact that I am the sole author of this tale and can’t rely on any outside editors to correct my errors. But with all of its strengths and weaknesses, its perfections and flaws, it will be my story and only mine, and that is a beautiful notion worth pursuing.

This blog is not going to be written with the same dreams of grandeur in mind as my previous one. However, I do hope that whoever is reading this out in the blogosphere will be able to take something away from my entries. Whether it’s a quote that comforts, a lyric that lessens the heartache, or an entry that reassures that even imperfect writers can have a voice that matters (and that tools such as alliteration are not always necessary to prove a point), I hope you find something. And if you don’t…well, you have my permission to stop following this blog and go out to write your own story. After all, that’s the one that matters most.