Musician

I've got a couple song lines revolving in my head right now, which almost never happens. Usually it's just one at a time. So I'm taking them really seriously, because they're all telling me the same thing:

"Well I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk" --Springsteen
"Played 'til my fingers bled" --Bryan Adams

And I know what I have to do. Full steam ahead with my dream, no questions asked, and no pausing to listen to anyone else's doubts, and especially not my own. That's it, that's what I want, and I'm going for it. I'm just going to voice my concerns here as a way of shedding them once and for all, and then I'm going to leave them here and continue on lighter and faster than before.

I've been worrying a lot lately that maybe it's too late. I know that sounds really stupid because I'm SO young, but it seems like everyone I know who plays an instrument well started very young and has known that that's what they want to do for years. Plus I just read Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, and while I understand that it means that ANYONE can be talented, the whole Ten Thousand Hour rule has me down. But you know, this is largely impatience on my part, and excuse-making. I'll never succeed so I won't even try kind of thinking. Which is just plain stupid. No, I won't be rockstar in a month. But in 6 months, I'll be way better than I am right now--even better if I keep in mind the quote I posted here the other day, that "talent is a species of vigor" (--Hoffer). There is no fundamental difference between me and "real" musicians except the amount of hard work they put into it, and the determination they possess.

I just have to share this too, because it was a huge help: I met Sam Powers (bassist in Superdrag) the other night and he was so encouraging about this whole thing. He took the time to ask me about what I wanted to do and what I have done so far, and then to make some funny and snide comments about his own natural abilities. Basically, he pointed out that (since I've played violin since I was 4) I have a great head start already, and that many people have been successful with little natural talent or none at all. So there we have it: If they can do it, I can do it. And here we go.