One of those "What If?" Stories...

[joelc1319]

I feel like sharing this, maybe for discussion, or maybe just because it makes me wonder what would have happened if...

So I started playing bass in my freshman year of high school, at age 14 (I'm 21 now). In my sophomore year, they (finally) added Jazz Band as a performance group, and I immediately joined on electric. It forced me to start reading music for bass, and even a little bit of improvisation. I was in it for the whole year, and really enjoyed it. It had been my first taste of jazz, and things were going very well.

Then they decided after just one year to cut the Jazz Band . To my knowledge it still doesn't exist at my high school, and only did for that one year. I ended up joining the Jazz Band on upright bass in my senior year of college (at age 21), and realized how much I love jazz and want to continue playing it seriously.

I was at a July 4th party this weekend and ran into another kid who was in Jazz Band with me for that one year and played trombone. He brought up the Jazz Band thing and his story was identical to how I realized I had felt - he would have gone to school for jazz if our high school hadn't cut the program. We both realized that we were young and just lost interest in jazz when they cut the program, yet now we want to play it seriously. Six years after the fact, and we look back realizing we would have been in college studying jazz if things had turned out differently.

I still ended up going to school to study Music & Technology, so I'm still on the right track. I don't regret going to school for what I studied, but it really makes me wonder what would have happened if the jazz program continued in high school...I guess life is full of these "what if" questions, whether it be career choice, relationships, or simple day-to-day activities. Then again maybe some people don't think that hard about these things!

Just wanted to share that story. Have a nice day everyone

[thumpbass1]

At least you are realizing these things at 21, as too many people tend to let life just happen to them and take whatever comes, instead of making choices about anything. I'm nearly 53 and I have had my ' What if ?' moments too, but there is a point that it can become a trap of sorts if it leads to ' What if ?' regrets, especially if it's over events that happen in one's life that one didn't have control over to begin with. At least you did do something proactive by getting your education underway. It's asking ourselves the 'Where am I going to be if I do this?' questions that have the greatest impact on our lives. The trouble is that too many people never ask those kind of questions of themselves, as they tend to only think about the short term things in life. Sounds to me like you have a good head on your shoulders and I hope your future is bright.

[ggunn]

If a frog had wings he wouldn't bump his @ss every time he jumps, or as they say in Mexico, if my aunt had wheels, she'd be a bicycle. Hindsight is always 20:20; don't waste your time by looking back.

[joelc1319]

thumpbass1, thank you very much for your kind words. I tend to look backwards sometimes, but I'm slowly realizing that moving forward is the only way to get anything done in life.

ggunn, amen. thank you as well, especially for the Mexican proverb .