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Some people think they understand, but they don’t. [I Feel Like a Failure]

Life is rough. I am feeling really depressed because I can’t find my way, and I feel like there’s no suitable place in this world for me. That sums it up with my career, mainly. I have a degree that got me no job at the end, with no real specialty, and am still stuck in a field I never wanted in the first place. I feel like a complete failure.

I’m told I should teach music when teaching isn’t my passion. I’m also told I have the skills to make it big (all because of my music concentration degree), and I want to laugh because they weren’t there when the 2nd chair of the symphony (my teacher) told me I wasn’t standard. She was also the 1st chair of another orchestra (not going to say which symphony/orchestra she is from), and one of the board members of the music department in the college I attended. She would not sign for me to be a performance major because I flat out wasn’t ready. And this was 2 semesters before I graduated, not enough time for me to prepare. And being that I was already close to $40,000 in student loan debt, I was not going to take an extra 2 years of college for my master’s degree.

So with that being said, I graduated with a bachelors in music concentration, and there was no job at the end of it, and my teacher retired that year. I have not been able to do anything with music since, and am stuck in customer service jobs. I work at home doing technical support over the phone now, after having spent 13 years at a fast food job that got me through college. It’s better pay, but still stressful having to listen to angry customers about their internet and cable being down.

I get so depressed that I cry, because my life is heading in the wrong direction, and I’m too old to be still trying to get noticed. I’m tired of searching for the needle in the haystack of opportunities. It’s all so uncertain!
fanuc2013 · 51-55, F
Sorry to hear that, you should have had a guidance counselor that would have told you that it's tough to make it in the music business, and that the truth is, most people are never able to make a living at it. You are still young enough to do some research and find a field where you can make a good living, like skilled trades for example, where there are a lot of openings. Everybody has some setbacks, especially in career choices, so just clear your head, look at everything with an open mind and give it another shot!
PoisonLace · 41-45, F
@fanuc2013 I am going for a trade that I never saw myself doing, but it's proving to be tougher than I thought it would be, and it's taking longer than expected.
fanuc2013 · 51-55, F
@PoisonLace sounds good, I remember when my hubby was going to trade school, it was so hard for him, but he buckled down and really worked hard because he knew it was the key to our future! Now, we have a nice home, nice things, have traveled, and had a good life, and looking forward to a comfortable retirement. It's not always about doing what you want, or "following your dream"! Those things can be done as a hobby, and if it turns out, Great! If it doesn't, oh well, at least you enjoyed trying!
Abstraction · 61-69, M
I'm sorry. At about your age I was in a similar rut. Stuck. Broke. No way out. Depressed. Trapped. Yet I knew - somewhere deep down - that I was creative, intelligent, capable of so much more, and I was nowhere. I couldn't see any way forward.

It didn't stay that way, but neither did it magically change overnight. But looking back my life has been amazing since then. No, really.

I deeply, deeply hope the same for you.
PoisonLace · 41-45, F
@Abstraction I really hope you're right.
SW-User
Damn. Star systems are cruel. Is there a niche or underserved community that needs your skills?
PoisonLace · 41-45, F
@SW-User I don't know.
cycleman · 61-69, M
do you enjoy playing the music? take it out on to the streets and just play for yourself.
PoisonLace · 41-45, F
@cycleman I am trying to find time. I decided to take a class for a different trade, and it's harder than expected, and it's taking a long time, too. I have to get finished with that before taking out my instrument. There is a deadline to finish the class, which I am not making.
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PoisonLace · 41-45, F
@SW-User I am a writer and a musician. Both my passions are suffering because I am trying to make a living, and neither of those have been successful. I can't put all my sweat and tears into my arts when I have responsibilities. I would have no income.
JoyfulSilence · 46-50, M

 
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