A Musician's Fatal Flaws...

I love being a musician. It's on the small list of things about myself that I take pride in.

Music teaches you effort, passion, and a huge number of other valuable qualities that I can't recall at this particular moment (but they exist, I swear).

But of course with the good comes the bad, because that's the way the world is governed, and I'll be damned if there's a few qualities I inherited from musicianship that I'd happily go without.

For example:

We're overly sensitive. One sad song too many and you just become a permanent hot mess. Friends of musicians (especially the classically trained ones) beware. We got the feels. Like a lot. Especially if music playing at that particular moment matches whatever we're feeling. If that's the case it might just be better to run towards the nearest bomb shelter.

We're prideful. Oh dear lord above. We take pride in our work, just like all artists and craftsmen. We make something that makes other people FEEL something, and emotion is a powerful force. When we're on stage it's like we're gods and we're dictating what a person is feeling. It's a total rush once we get over the whole nerves thing and the pride in our art can turn into arrogance fast (guilty). And if you insult our craft? You'd be safer just opening the gates of hell. Really you would.

We're self reliant. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but pair it with pride and we're reluctant to accept help even when we really need it. Do you see the potential problem? Good. Glad we're on the same page.

We don't typically have a good grasp of our limits. And even when we know them we don't like to adhere to them. When's the last time you practiced a sport from 9 PM until 3 in the morning? I didn't think so.

I hate when people say "You're a music major? That must be so easy!" No. It's not easy. It's exhausting. How many other majors take required classes that are worth zero credit hours? Musicians have to read what is arguably an entirely different language (and the directions really are in another language most of the time), be completely aware of what a lot of muscles are doing all the time, and feel emotions all at the same time.

That's a lot to do.

Ya know?