I keep a lot of old things around, including old letters, articles, and other things like that. This is a post that I once read somewhere on the internet. I thought it was quite inciteful at the time. I recently had my attention brought to it again, and I'm posting it here to share with you.
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That feeling doesn't really go away. I mean, humans are born to call everything -- including their existence -- into question. Every so often, I think most of the working population, even those earning 6+ figures per year (perhaps especially those earning 6+ figures per year) find themselves saying, "What, exactly, am I doing? I am working a completely meaningless job, doing meaningless tasks, emotionally draining myself in the process, and for what? So that others can continue doing their equally meaningless jobs. What does it all add up to?" But it's the world we live in. I tend to think of the ancients as being naive -- the serfs toiled in the fields and didn't question their lot in life. But, in all probability, they all stopped to daydream from time to time, wondering how life got away from them.
As for the fellas who hate studying, very few people actually enoy it. There are some people who are hopelessly overdriven, always finished with assignments early, never falling behind when it comes to cumulative learning. Their need for achievement and the affirmation they get from grades isn't enviable. Nevertheless, it's just too easy to sit back and say, "I know I'm as smart as those people... I'd get those grades if I worked that hard." Well, you aren't working that hard, and there is absolutely no reason for an employer to believe that you are going to have some epiphany upon graduation that's going to make you work hard for them. And while it may seem like a college degree won't kick open any doors for you in the music biz, it will go a long way in letting people know that you can handle the "professional" part of "professional musician."
Also, Gordon has some great points about life experience. If you are considering a career in an artistic endeavor, you need those experiences to make your art compelling. Nobody wants to read a book by an author who only knows what it is like to be a writer, and nobody wants to hear a musician who only knows the life of a musician. Honestly, there is nothing I hate more than a band that includes a song about how tough the music business is on their FIRST album (Silvertide, I'm looking in your direction). A guy like Springsteen has been successful for 30+ years with a far from pitch-perfect voice or extended range, simply because he can sing about gambling debts or awkward encounters with old high school aquaintances and make it convincing. That type of empathy can only be gained through experiences and vigorous living.
It's all in balance, I suppose. You can never leave the library, or you can sleep through every class -- either way, at some point you'll probably feel like you wasted a lot of time. Most people go to college for the same basic reasons: get started on a career path, find yourself, maybe find a spouse while you are at it. You can make yourself miserable by over-pursuing any of those quests. But if you don't make headway with any of them, you're wasting time and money. There are cheaper places to tread water than at a university.
Sorry, didn't mean to ramble... alright, back to work.
