You Need a Hobby!

When is the last time that you have actually done something that is truly for yourself?

I was feeling that way a few years ago, and decided to start taking Voice lessons. It was something I had wanted to do for so long… Back to the age of 15, I can remember memorizing the lyrics, playing a favorite song over and over again, until I learned it “perfectly” and could sing along without reading the words. And I would sing at the top of my lungs, especially when I was in the car. But never, ever, would I actually sing in front of anyone. I knew that I had some work to do to learn how to sing properly, so I never wanted to expose myself to feeling “not good enough,” so I just didn’t try.

Enter Patrick, an amazing guy that I met on an NCL cruise, who encouraged me to get up and sing at karaoke one evening, after my wife and I had been hanging out with him and his wife, Karen, for several days. We had instantly formed a great friendship (that still lasts through today), and he got me to step out of my comfort zone to experience something I had always wanted; to hold a microphone and sing a song to a crowd of people. I never dreamed that I would actually do it. But there I was, thinking, “Wow, that was so fun!”

And that was what pushed me over the edge to finally signing up for lessons at the age 50. Just think of all the time I wasted not pursuing this dream… and now I sit here, spending my day off composing music on the piano, writing my very own song, and today I was writing a musical! I have performed at the Groton Hill Music Center’s Voice Department Soirees, in a Cabaret group, in the Rock Choir, and at Recitals. It is the most enjoyable thing for me… I absolutely love it!

So what have you been saying to yourself all your life? Do you want to sing? Play an instrument? Learn how to knit? Go on a treasure hunt? Play a sport? Learn how to carve wooden animals? Paint, draw, and create? I urge you to do something about it today. Taking that step was the best decision I have ever made. And I have met countless others along the way who have stepped up and joined the choir, or started piano lessons after years and years of “wishing” they could. You can. Just do it!