Shoot From The Hip

Growing up no one really expected much of me. I wasn't an outstanding student in high school. I only made the dean's list once in college and I graduated with a 2.7. I was stuck in "the black hole" as people call it. My entire life I fantasized about moving away from home. Many of my friends were the same. When I moved, many thought I would be back within a couple of months. Here I am two and a half years later finishing my 2nd year of teaching. No one really thought I would move let alone stay out of "the black hole" let alone start and sustain a career. It's everything I wanted right? Maybe it's everything they wanted. Maybe I've focused on what everyone else has wanted for themselves without really asking myself, "what do you want, David?" I finally asked myself this question. The answer was puzzling as I came to figure out I had no idea what I wanted. Not until now.

Teaching is great. It's steady. The pay isn't outstanding, but at least I have some sort of status in life. However, I've come to realize I am not defined by a degree. I'm not defined by a career or a label. I've come to the realization that one's quality of life will be defined by what he or she values. So one must ask, "what do I value?" Ahh...that's a question I can answer.

I value self-expression. I value life experience. I don't want to just "be steady" anymore. It's no longer enough. Using my new discovery of what I as an individual values, I've come to the conclusion that it's time for another life change. I'm confident that these will be my last 3 weeks as a music educator. Once the school year is out, I'm flying to New York City with Daniel. We will look for work. We will look for a place to live. More than anything we will try something different. I want to be a musician. I'm taking a leap of faith. I will let the universe do the rest. Everything that is meant to be will be. If this is meant to be it will be. I've already made my peace with all of the possibilities.

"Our creative dreams and yearnings come from a divine source. As we move toward our dreams, we move toward our divinity."-The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

Me vs. The Traffic Lights

I'm driving. STOP! Driving again. STOP! Oh traffic light how you trouble me so. It's like you've planned it on the corner of San Jose and Baymeadows. I try to go fast but you make me go slow.

Driver in front of me driving 35 in a 45. Do you have nowhere to go? Are you Sunday driving on a Wednesday afternoon? Get out of my way Sunday driver. I'm always in a hurry and I'm obsessed with time. You can waste your own but don't waste mine. Then again it's not your responsibility. Maybe I should have left earlier. Maybe you should go just a little bit faster. I can always go around but my blind side is clear with congestion. Snot. Snot. Snot. The End.

Entry 1

Hello wide world of social networking fiends. I am David. This is my first blog. I'm not quite sure if it will be read at all. Fortunately for me those are not my intentions for this blog. My intentions are simple. I'm not a fantastic writer. I certainly don't have a way with words. But I believe a blog could be good for me. Do I really need to explain myself?

Why not start from where I'm at right now? I'm a 26 year old elementary music teacher living in Jacksonville, FL. I have my B.A. in Music from a small college in Alabama no one really knows about. I kind of just moved after I graduated in 2007. Someone told me that Jax, FL is where it's at. I'm still trying to find out where to find "it". I teach elementary music at George W. Carver Elem. M-W and Rutledge Pearson Elem. Th-F. I do freelance gigs and open mics with my twin brother Daniel. We call ourselves "Oscar Mike". Clever name I know. You don't have to tell me. We write our own music. He plays guitar and I sing. Straight up acoustic act. We enjoy being as creative as we possibly can with our music. Music in my humble opinion is very liberating and we enjoy exploring its dimensions. I sing tenor in the Jacksonville Symphony Chorus. We perform with the orchestra here in Jax. Singing is great, but I'm not limited to voice only. I studied the trumpet in college, and taught myself the bass guitar while I was a teenager. Over the past few years I've picked up the guitar and the piano. I guess you could say I'm a musician. I have a nice life here in Jax. Change, however, always has a way of finding you no matter how comfortable or stable one might believe he or she is. I am no different.

This is my first entry. It's not where "it's" at, but it's definitely where "I'm" at.