How Passion Led to Purpose: Rediscovering My Path

It’s February 2020. I’m sitting in the Bobby Bailey Performing Arts Center past midnight, recording a 17-second orchestral excerpt for what feels like the 200th time this week. After a full day of classes, and a four-hour orchestra performance, everyone has left the stage but me. I’m exhausted, anxious, and wondering: Is this why I chose music?

The answer was no. I chose music because, like many, I pursued what I loved without knowing where it might lead. I had always heard, "follow your passion," and believed that if I loved what I did, I’d never work a day in my life. But as I faced the prospect of massive graduate school debt and years of insecure gig work, I began questioning whether passion alone could sustain me.

For the first time, I took a step back to rethink my path. I asked myself, "What do I truly want out of life beyond work?" I realized that while I loved music, what I loved more was the intersection of creativity, structure, and performance. I was known as a "copycat player," someone skilled at replicating the best elements of others. But it was more than mimicry—I relished curating excellence, distilling the best and presenting it to an audience without them needing to hear thousands of hours of music.

Surprisingly, it was through this period of self-reflection that I discovered I could be skilled in other areas. I had always assumed music was the only thing I was good at. But when I transitioned into finance, I found that my analytical mindset, attention to detail, and desire to curate the best also applied to this field. Realizing I could excel in something completely different from what I’d always known was eye-opening and empowering.

Spreadsheets replaced symphony scores, but the underlying passion was the same: to craft, analyze, and present something meaningful. My path may be unconventional, but it is one that allows me to live a life of creativity, stability, and fulfillment.