Some people are born knowing what they want to be; a vet, a doctor, even a princess. I thought I knew too.

I wanted to be a musician. I had convinced myself at age nine that I would one day be good enough to perform on a televised singing show and launch my career into stardom. As I grew up and started writing my own music, I began to learn that maybe I would be happier calling the shots from behind the scenes. A singer-songwriter was sounding a lot more desirable as a future career outcome; minus the whole elaborate TV show experience.

Soon enough, I was in my final year of high-school and was convinced I would become a songwriter of sorts. I had been performing a lot as part of a band in the previous three years but had started to lose my passion for it when my band broke up. It wasn’t as exciting without the social element. I much preferred the reflective process of writing music opposed to performing to a crowd.

Six months after finishing high school, I was accepted into my “dream” music course and soon realised that the reality of my situation was a living nightmare.

The Difference Between The “Dream” And The Reality

The people I was surrounded by were actually happy and excited to learn new theories about songwriting and I was counting down the minutes before I’d get to leave. I just couldn’t bring myself to connect with my peers or the course content which ultimately lead me to leave the university.

Almost two years since leaving that course, I have finally found comfort in a different kind of writing degree; Journalism. It wasn’t until beginning this degree that I uncovered a revelation I had been afraid to admit to myself for the last three years. My passion had changed.

Giving up was a blessing in disguise, and it’s not an easy thing to do.

For the longest time, I felt like a failure, like I’d given up on what gave me a feeling of purpose for so long and that I’d missed my calling. I was raised to believe that “giving up” was a bad thing, but I now believe this to be the opposite. Giving up was a blessing in disguise, and it’s not an easy thing to do.

Passions Change

Once you allow yourself to move on from something that no longer makes you happy, it creates room in your life to move onto your next passion, to the next challenge.

So here’s some advice I wish someone had given me when I had felt stuck: Passions can and often will change. Evolve with them, not against them.

Now let’s get one thing straight: there is a difference between giving up because you are not willing to put in the work or because it’s something that doesn’t make you happy anymore.

Giving up on something you want but don’t want to work for will not push you forward. If you want to truly succeed and achieve a dream you have to be prepared to put in the time, effort and hard work. Nothing can stand in your way, especially when it comes to industries as competitive as Journalism or Music.

It’s about moving forward, if you have to give up on something to make a new dream come true and you’re prepared to give it everything then it’s the right decision to make.

I am absolutely grateful for the years of my life that I dedicated to practising and perfecting my musical abilities, for it is these skills of determination, consistency and persistence that are helping me to succeed in my new degree.

Use your strengths, let them enhance your love for whatever you’re passionate about and you will succeed in whatever dream you choose to pursue.

(Lead image: Raise Your Voice/Brookwell MacNamara Entertainment)