Have I found my niche in life yet? 

     At the fairly developed age of 30, I can still ask the question that hounds grammar school children across the planet: “What do I want to be when I grow up?” (Ignoring for a moment the fact that I have been “grown up” for quite a few years now)

     I’ve been lucky enough to have the freedom to explore my life in various directions throughout my years that other, more pressured people haven’t.  Have I wandered?  Most definitely.  Has it been aimless?  Not at all.  I’ve grown as an individual, a member of society, and a partner to my significant other through all of my endeavors.

• I’ve been drawn to music in some form for the vast majority of my life.  Since the age of 14, it has been focused primarily on the electric bass.  I’ve been lucky enough to have played with some extremely talented musicians in the creation of original music, cover bands, and “work-for-hire” situations.  Yes, that last one actually means I’ve gotten paid to record and perform music.  Not much, mind you, but that’s more than many a basement musician can say.

• I’m a “quote-unquote” writer.  I’m not quite as naturally drawn to this as I am to music, which is ironically why it’s sometimes more satisfying.  I’ve been published… if by “published” you count several online music reviews, two (we)blogs, a handful of short pieces, and two “Letters to the Editor” in Bass Player magazine.  Regardless of my success or lack thereof in this field, writing teaches me more about myself than most other facets of life, and for that reason alone it’s a worthwhile accomplishment.

• I’m an “intellectual.”  By that I don’t mean I’m smarter than you – in most cases far from it.  It means that I simply gain pleasure from learning, debating, and thereby gaining a differing point-of-view about various subjects from the process.  My scholastic track record has been plagued by periods of downtime for various reasons, but when I have attended institutions of higher learning I’ve generally enjoyed it and been successful.  I have my Associates Degree in Criminal Justice, and I’m about a semester and a half from a Bachelors in Political Science with a minor in Sociology with emphasis on class/gender/race inequality.  I hope to find the end of the “paper road” soon, but never the actual path of learning.

• I’ve taken chances in life.  Not life threatening nor neglectful of the consequences, but I haven’t lived my life too sheltered.  I’ve dropped out of college at 17 to start a band.  I’ve worked full-time while continuing with music.  I’ve returned to school past the median age when it was apparent that it was the path meant for me at that particular point in time.  Most of all, I’ve left the relative comfort and security of my home in New York to relocate my life 800 miles away in the Midwest for a chance at love.  A chance that more than worked out, if you’d wondering.

     This all leads me back to the original question posed at the beginning of this piece – “Have I found my niche in life yet?”  I suppose by writing this it has become clearer.

I want to do it all.