They say to follow your head and not your heart, don't let your emotions cloud your judgment. This is what I was told ever since I was a baby. For so long, I struggled to find what I was good at. My friends, charming and interesting, had numerous talents that made me feel like I wasn't enough.
I thought, perhaps, if I could find one thing, just one thing I was good at, then maybe I would be something, even if it was only a little. The warm wind breezed past my face as I sat on the park bench, contemplating what next life had for me. I wanted to be a singer but it was impossible with the type of voice I had. If life was a fairy tale, my voice would have the ability to turn the prince into a frog and not the other way around.
My parent told me the choice was simple, pick a course that would pay very well in the end, but music wasn't an option. "Follow your head," they said. I thought long and hard on that park bench. Maybe they were right. Maybe there was a lawyer in me somewhere wanting to be let loose. I applied for admission into the university to study law and was rejected. I followed my head.
How could one study music if the only thing they had was the heart of it? Nothing else. The wind carried my thoughts all around the park. I watched as the bird sang their song and the children danced around, and then it hit me.
Maybe I was thinking about it the wrong way. If I couldn't sing, I was going to use other people's voices. I figured I help other people find their songs or even better, I could hear my songs through them. I hurried from the park and went straight home to inform my parents about the idea I had. I could tell from their faces they weren't thrilled about the decision but didn't try to stop me. They would rather have me try and fail than not try at all.
I applied to study music the next year and the admission letter came faster than a cheetah hunting its prey. I enrolled that same year.
It's been three years since my moment on that bench. I know more than I thought I ever would and not a moment has gone by where I regret the decision I made. I await the time I finally hear my song played out loud. Until then, I'm taking life one chord at a time.
Follow your head, they said.