When people ask me, “What do you want to do for a career?” and I tell them that I’m a music producer and composer, they always look at me like I don’t know what I’m talking about. They always seem to be thinking “That’s nice, but don’t you want to eat?” and they often ask about my “backup plan.” But the way I see it, if I don’t go all out, I’m definitely not going to make it. I work as hard as I can and dare myself to fail harder. If I had a backup plan, I would already be admitting my failure. I know that God has called me to music as a career, and to not believe it will work out is to say that I don’t trust God.
But my dreams are more than just a distant hope to me–they are constantly before me every single day as I spend hours and hours perfecting my craft. This faith that I have in what God has called me to do is the reason why I make myself sit down at the piano and perfect a passage when I’d rather be hanging out with my friends. It is the reason why I gave up a “normal” public education for homeschool and community college so I could put in enough hours on music. This faith in God is how I faced a painful and supposedly “permanent” injury for three years, which would’ve been a good enough reason to quit, and yet I still didn’t give up.
To me, it’s not a question of if my career path will work out–it’s only a question of when. I believe in long, hard work, and I don’t feel entitled to anything without working for it. I don’t expect someone to “discover” me one day without me putting in any effort. I expect to work hard and create opportunities for myself. Why should I expect to get anything more than what I have, if I haven’t made the most of what has already been given to me? If I don’t work now, with what I have, why should anyone think I will start working once I get more? No, first you have to prove yourself with a little, and then you can be trusted with more. So right now, I’m creating the best songs I can with the training I’ve had, and I’m making the best productions I can in the tiny studio in my parent’s basement. Then, one day when I’ve learned more, and when I’m working in someone’s “state-of-the-art studio,” I will be ready for the work that is required.
I already am a producer and composer–I’m not waiting until the future to get started. Why wait when I know that this is what God has called me to do? And why have a backup plan when I already live my first plan? You take risks in life whether you want to or not, so I live my life as one big leap of faith towards my dreams.