To my friends currently in school...

I wanted you to know I commend you. I'm proud of you. And I'm a little bit jealous, too.

It's easy to settle into the post-college mindset of working full-time, and pondering how hard your life is. Gosh, weren't those the days when all you had to do was get up, look presentable, and head to a large room to listen to someone talk at you at length about something they are an expert of?

The reality, I'm realizing, is that while working full-time is difficult, so was school. And while in comparison to what I'm doing now, school seemed simple, I also remember how much I wished to just go join the "real world" and be working rather than just doing homework. The type of difficulty is different.

I recently got reminded that working full-time isn't superior to going to school full-time. And with that reminder came the acknowledgment that I had recently become downright condescending of people who were students. I was wrong. To be blunt, you guys are working your asses off, and with little tangible reward. I, at least, work lots of hours and end up with some type of paycheck. And when I get done with work, I don't have to go home and do more of it.

I miss the flexibility I had in college the most. My professors were amazingly understanding when I would inform them that I might miss a lecture because of the opportunity to play a gig that coincided. Jobs aren't nearly as understanding.

I have more time to have hobbies. I have less time to build up my embouchure and work on my actual music career. My life revolves around the paychecks coming in, and the checks I'm writing to pay that money away. It's a little depressing, and a little freeing, because it leaves decisions up to me. I'm learning lessons that I wish I had learned in college about the consequences of not paying attention to my money, and realizing that having fun now when I can't afford it, leads to even less fun further down the road. I hated hearing that from others, but now it's my turn to state it.

Growing up is hard. Life is hard. But my goal is to learn from it, and keep moving forward!

P.S. If anyone was interested in seeing me play, I've got a whole herd of performances coming up in November! Wagner, Shostakovitch, Ewazen, and more!