Simon and Garfunkel have nothing on me. I am now in Topeka Kansas where I am stationed for the evening. Typing happily on the Holiday Inn Express computer that is in the "business center" The business center coincidentally enough is a room with a table and four chairs and one desktop computer in the corner. Clearly, I have splurged on my hotel stay.
But hey, as long as this computer is working, I am a happy camper. I am about 8 hours from home where I will spending my Christmas vacation working full time at Citron WorkSpaces a dealership/design firm that specializes in offices and commercial spaces. I love it. I love the people, I love the company, I love the work, and I especially love feeling like I have accomplished something with my past four years of schooling. If I were not moving to Peru, I probably would be applying for a real job there. And this of course is a lead- in for my topic du jour:
So...while on the open road, traveling through Kansas or missouri or wherever the heck I was, I was thinking about my past four years at Anderson, and more specifically my decision for my interior design major and music minor. I've gotten feedback from people about these two areas of study (feedback which was not asked for by the way) and usually the people that give me the feedback are the people that are bothered by the fact that I study two seemingly contradicting things. Now, I thought long and hard about some of the criticisms that I've had for having a minor- mainly the "concern" that I would be a better interior designer if I would quit music and focus only on interior design and that music inhibits me from doing well in design. And this is what bothers me the most- I am bothered by the assumption that because I have two passions, one or both are suffering and that I need to only choose one.
To this I say "You're silly."
And here's why-
I truly feel that God called me to Anderson, SC to study interior design as my major and I actually did not even go into college with the intent to get a music minor, but only to play in the orchestra and sing in the choir. As it worked out, I had incredible music opportunities while at Anderson, opportunities that I might not have had anywhere else, and I also feel that I was led to capitalize on these and advance musically. I have never regretted only minoring in music. Music is a passion, but it is not a career calling. Design is. Now, the false stigma is still there that I am injuring my career in design by not giving all my attention to it. I 100% believe that this is completely false. I have given 100% of my attention to design overall and though of course not everday was an overwhelming success, I can still remain dedicated. I know that Ive made mistakes and that I've learned a lot through trial and error, but it is beyond my comprehension why people would discourage me from advancing musically as well as artistically. I have two passions, and I dedicate myself to both. Neither is suffering. I know that not everyone will understand it, but I know that it is possible. Case in Point- My mom. She is about to graduate with her Doctorate of Nursing next week. Doctorate. And she has been playing the piano and organ amazingly for various churches since she was a teenager. She's the best singer I know, I am constantly amazed by her piano and organ talents. She plays for two churches right now while balancing a home, and a very advanced career- she's won many awards also for nursing, including a Nightingale award, which is a huge deal.
I see her and her passion for both and I get all the more motivated to prove I can do it, or realize that so far I have done it. The fact that I have two passions is not a hindrance, it is a chance for me to work harder than others to improve both. I don't want to sound like I'm better than anyone else, or that I think more highly of myself because I enjoy two different things, but God has given me talents in different areas, and I feel like I would be untrue to myself and more importantly, untrue to God if I were to quit either.
Ok...well, um I think I'm going to step down from my soap box now. I just had to get that out of me, it's been on my mind for a few days and the open road only gave me time to mull over it. =)
On a much less serious/frustrated note, I did pass a street called Buttrub That's right...butt-rub. Back to you, Silly Gilly.
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