musician

Then they say: “Fine, well do what you need to. But I don’t want to see you wasting your life. Isn’t it time you get a job?”

Porter Robinson – Musician

Something sparks in me hearing these lines from Porter Robinson’s newest song – Musician. I think it is true sometimes, that people think creative work isn’t real work (unless you make a lot of money out of it).

People who work in creative industries are often taken for granted and sometimes misunderstood. My parents told me about real life examples of a music teacher who can’t earn enough money to support his family. That I was better off being a doctor or an accountant than to play music for a living. Maybe there is some truth in it. They have a right to be worried. But I also have a right to do what I want for my life.

There are times where I don’t get much work done and that’s when I started doubting myself. Thinking maybe I should pursue the whole corporate work again. Maybe then I won’t be wasting my life.

But then I kept going and realized that whichever choice you made, whichever way you go, there are going to be obstacles and hardship. As long as you love what you do and keep going, that’s already enough.

I don’t know which decisions I will be making tomorrow. I don’t know what life will bring. I just know that I will not let anyone tell me that I’m wasting my life. That I am figuring things out on the way. And sometimes, that’s okay too.

Be an artist. Be a musician. Be a writer. Be you.

t.l.