What Do I Want to Be When I Grow Up?

(This is more for me to process my thoughts, than for any reader.)

I am currently majoring in Vocal Performance, but I do not want to sing opera when I graduate from college.  The problem is, is that I do not know what I want to do when I graduate from college.

Important Factors:

-I want to be able to travel, or at least to be able to do my job anywhere

-I do not want to have to worry about paying my bills

-I need to feel smart at what I do, or I will lose interest

-I still want to have time (and money) to write and record music

Interests:

-Singing

-Writing music: as in songwriting, not composition

-Recording music

-Choral music: singing and listening, but not conducting (I am most passionate about choral music)

-Classical music training: not necessarily to perform, but to protect my voice and prove legit musicianship

-Music Theory

-Pop music/media

-French language

-Traveling

Weaknesses:

-Operatic singing: I have tried. My voice isn't fit for it (it is breathy and lacks vibrato). And honestly neither is my personality (because the only way for me to produce an operatic sound is to "mock" other performers). Although I do enjoy watching some operas.

-Interpersonal skills: It is strange because I can perform or speak in front of large crowds easily (and I LOVE to do so), and I can market anything through digital media and online networking, but I am not good with personal, face-to-face, one-on-one interactions with people (at least, people I do not know well).

Strengths:

-Belting (haha)

-Pop and Musical Theatre singing

-Songwriting: I did not think so, but professionals have taken an interest and have encouraged me to pursue it

-Choral music

-Music theory: It started out rough, but I am getting better, and I love it (I am highly analytical.)

-Mathematics: And I LOVE math

-Organization

Things I might want to do/have considered doing:

-Performing as a singer on cruise ships

-Professional choral ensembles

-Studio singer/Recording artist (:D)

-Flight attendant

-Massage Therapist

-Work for a corporation or other business-related place (music-related)

-Management/Marketing (music-related)

Things I know I do not want to do:

-Musical Theatre: I am not a dancer, and I am hardly an actress

-Teach music: I have done student directing, student-teaching, and produced a musical theatre camp and I do not have the ability to control groups of students. By "ability", I mean that I do not have the patience or interest to do so.

-Pedagogy: it kinda goes along with the teaching thing, even though it does not include groups or conducting

-Hate my job: too many people these days are depressed because they hate their jobs and feel trapped by it. I think I'd rather be homeless.

-Cop out, settle, sell myself short, etc. That is the biggest thing.

Ugh. I still do not know what I want to be when I grow up :/

Tangible Tangent (...or a Secondary Dominant?)

I came up with a brilliant idea the other day. 

I do not know if the idea is going to work, or if it will ever happen, but I have been doing a lot of research on it lately, and as we all know, research is what I do best.

Okay so...Basically I have decided that every year I want to travel somewhere in the world.  There are so  many places that I want to go, and depending on how I go about it, it can be surprisingly (relatively) inexpensive. (Fortunately, my tastes and interests allow me to ponder and plan on a small budget.)  And while I would love to experience all of the tourist attractions in each place I visit, if only for the experience, I do not want to travel like a tourist.  I would rather experience each place and culture as the locals experience it.  After all, to understand the people and their way of life in each place is the main reason I am interested in traveling in the first place. To me, what else would be the point?  If I only go to meet other tourists and visit places the locals usually do not, that completely defeats the purpose. 

Since I am Irish, (and therefore proud of my heritage), naturally the first place I want to visit is Ireland. Of course, I would like to visit Dublin, but in all of Ireland, I am actually least interested in Dublin. It would still be nice to see the east coast, such as (well, Dublin), and especially Wicklow. I also want to visit the south coast, particularly Cork, because that is where my grandmother's father came from. I am probably most interested, however, in visiting the west coast, including Galway, Limerick, and Clare.  Ireland is a place that I feel a strong connection with, since my not-so-distant family came from there. That is entirely fascinating to me.  It is the only place that I have always wanted to visit, and although I have never been there, I think I want to live there for some time.

Of course, there are many other places I want to visit.  Probably second on my list is France because I want to learn to speak French fluently.  I am not sure whether I would want to visit Paris or not; I have heard southern France is spectacular, and much less "busy".  But then again, you cannot go to France and not see the Eiffel Tower and the Champs-Élysées! 

Like any American, my family comes from many places. Although I am mostly Irish (and really only care about my Irish heritage!), some of my ancestors also came from Scotland and Germany, so those are other top places on my list. I do not know much about either country, so I will have to do some major research on them, but I do want to visit them both.  

Since I am majoring in Vocal Performance, I want to visit Italy, although I am not yet sure where.  I am also considering adding Austria to my list because they have a rich music culture. (I mean, every culture is rich in music, but...you know.."The Sound of Music" was set there--and partly filmed there).  I also want to see London, Spain, and Switzerland someday, but they are not at the top of my list.

Each place will require an extent of flexibility in various areas, and I am fully aware of that. But at least with Ireland, I am planning to visit for two weeks in May (2011).  This year, I am working during the school year to save enough money. My budget for each place will need to be different for each year.  This year it is around $3500 for flight, hotel, transportation, food, and spending money.  Fortunately, according to the research I have done, that is a reasonable number.  

I am thinking that each summer I will plan a trip for around two weeks, in the following summer. Even (and maybe even especially) when I graduate from college, I still want to be able to travel a lot. Hopefully I will come to a point where I have fully funded it the year before (when I plan it); that way I know it will happen. I do not want to become one of those people who always wishes they could travel, but never ends up doing anything about it. After all, one of my biggest dreams is to travel the world, and I am all about working hard to achieve my dreams :) 

I am either a hard-core dreamer, or my thoughts are their own distraction from themselves.

If you know me, then you're not suprised

I switched majors again, for my birthday, about a month ago. THIS time for final. (For REAL.)

My new major is my old major: Vocal Performance. So for anyone interested my schedule now looks like this:

Monday
9:00am-9:50am: French I, Mrs. McNeill
11:00am-11:50am: Music Theory II, Dr. Licata
12:00pm-12:50pm: Opera History and Literature, Dr. Amaya
2:00pm-2:50pm: Intro to World Music, Dr. Semmes
3:30pm-4:00pm: Accompanist rehearsal, Aaron Ames
5:00pm-6:00pm: Voice Studio Class, Dr. Amaya
7:00pm-9:00pm: Appalachian Chorale, Dr. Hopton-Jones

Tuesday
11:00am-11:50pm: Aural Skills II, Dr. Licata
1:00pm-1:50pm: Class Piano II, Mrs. Rippey

Wednesday
9:00am-9:50am: French I, Mrs. McNeill

11:00am-11:50am: Music Theory II, Dr. Licata

12:00pm-12:50pm: Opera History and Literature, Dr. Amaya

2:00pm-2:50pm: Intro to World Music, Dr. Semmes

Thursday
10:00am-10:50am: Applied Voice, Dr. Amaya

11:00am-11:50pm: Aural Skills II, Dr. Licata

1:00pm-1:50pm: Class Piano II, Mrs. Rippey

Friday

9:00am-9:50am: French I, Mrs. McNeill

11:00am-11:50am: Music Theory II, Dr. Licata

1:00pm-1:50pm: Performance Seminar

2:00pm-2:50pm: Intro to World Music, Dr. Semmes

P.S. This post is not even why I logged in, but now I'm out of time. I'll be back soon!

School Schedule....Almost final...

I still have to make some changes to my school schedule, but here is what I have for sure:

Monday
9:00am-9:50am: Intro to Music Industry Studies, Mrs. Wangler
10:00am-10:50am: Survey of Western Music, Dr. Semmes
2:00pm-2:50pm: Intro to World Music, Dr. Semmes
5:00pm-6:00pm: Voice Studio Class, Dr. Amaya
7:00pm-9:00pm: Appalachian Choral, Dr. Hopton-Jones

Tuesday
(NO CLASS!!!)

Wednesday

9:00am-9:50am: Intro to Music Industry Studies, Mrs. Wangler

10:00am-10:50am: Survey of Western Music, Dr. Semmes

2:00pm-2:50pm: Intro to World Music, Dr. Semmes

Thursday

(NO CLASS!!!)

Friday

9:00am-9:50am: Intro to Music Industry Studies, Mrs. Wangler

10:00am-10:50am: Survey of Western Music, Dr. Semmes

1:00pm-1:50pm: Performance Seminar

2:00pm-2:50pm: Intro to World Music, Dr. Semmes

At some point, I will be doing a voice lesson once a week with Dr. Amaya :) Since I placed out of Contemporary Musicianship I until next semester, then HOPEFULLY I can take Artist Management or something. I am also supposed to be taking Survey of Management, but the one I am in now conflicts with my Voice Studio Class, so I can't add it. All of the other ones are full, but I'm working on switching to another time...We'll see. Anyways, the first three days haven't been too bad! :)

El cántaro roto

El cántaro roto

La lluvia...

Ojos de aqua de sombra,

ojos de agua de pozo,

ojos de aqua de sueńo.

Soles azules, verdes remolinos,

picos de luz que abren astros

como granadas.

Dime, tierra quemada, no hay aqua?

hay sólo sangre, sólo hay polvo,

sólo pisadas de pies desnudos sobre la espina?

La lluvia despierta...

Hay que domir con los ojos abiertos,

hay que soñar con les manos,

soñemos sueños activos de río buscando su cauce,

sueños de sol soñando sus mundos,

hay que soñar en voz alta,

hay que cantar hasta que el canto eche,

raíces, tronco ramas pájaros, astros,

hay que desenterrar la palabra perida,

recordar lo que dicen la sangre y la marea,

le tierra y el cuerpo,

volver al punto de partida...

Octavio Paz, adapted by Eric Whitacre

 

Cloudburst

The broken water-jar

The rain...

Eyes of shadow‐water,

eyes of well water,

eyes of dream‐water.

Blue suns, green whirlwinds,

birdbeaks of light pecking open

pomegranate stars.

But tell me, burnt earth, is there no water?

Only blood, only dust,

only naked footsteps on the thorns?

The rain awakens…

We must sleep with open eyes,

we must dream with our hands,

we must dream the dreams of a river seeking its course,

of the sun dreaming its worlds,

we must dream aloud,

we must sing till the song puts forth roots,

trunk, branches birds, stars,

we must find the lost word,

and remember what the blood,

the tides, the earth, and the body say,

and return to the point of departure...

Translation by Lysander Kemp