Brainstorming

I'm for sure not going to pass music theory 3 (only offered in the fall), which has to be taken before music theory 4 (only offered in the spring). I've still got a whole spring semester left this spring which includes my senior performance recital. It'll be 17 credit hours but less now that I can't take theory 4 yet, and it'll hopefully be less stressful than it would be with that class.

I have failed a bunch of classes since being here, but I'm not giving up despite everything going on until I get this damn degree so I can be taken seriously in the working world, especially as a brown man.

The one thing I need to overcome is what other people think or say and their expectations for me. Because of my own shortcomings, some people that have tried to help me ignore me but fail to realize that I need to learn to do this on my own and not be helped and then get dropped into the deep end because they just stop suddenly.

I know I love music and performance, but most of my happiness lies in helping others - I feel good about myself and what I'm doing from helping people. I was thinking of going for Music Therapy and then going for opera later, or also picking up a trade like plumbing or carpentry. Without a father figure, if anyone has advice or wisdom about discipline or planning for the future I would appreciate it very much.

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midnightrose · F

You've got to know what you want. It's hard to plan for a future if you don't have a goal in mind. I'd also say it's ok to take a break for awhile until you figure it out. You can certainly finish this thing that you started but if you aren't sure what you're gonna do with it or the direction you want to go, if you even [i]want[/i] to go that direction at all, then take time to figure it out. Otherwise you're wasting time and money.

There's a possibility that your failing is telling you this isn't for you. It's not that you [i]can't[/i] but perhaps you're being led another direction. What I mean is don't be so focused on pushing through that you ignore what else is out there for you. It's cool to prove something to yourself but what if you're just making yourself wait even longer for where you're meant to be? It's ok to quit sometimes. That doesn't mean you failed. It takes a very mentally aware person to know when it's time to quit and move on to something better for them.

You can always perform. There's a lot you can do with music without a degree, especially if you mainly enjoy the performance aspect. If performance is what you want there are probably better ways to get there that cost less money and take less time to make happen.

Once you know what you want to do, you can figure out the best route to take to get there. If that's finishing your college degree, great. If not, great too. It helps to have a mentor in the area of work that you want to be in too. They can help lead and direct you.

Good luck with whatever you do!

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