Growing up I felt like I was a late bloomer when it came to finding my niche. I didn’t have a knack for art, my side ached every time I played soccer, and to this day I can’t throw a baseball. But when I was 10 years old I started playing the guitar. At first I found it difficult to learn new chords and establish a rhythm, but I will never forget the night my guitar teacher told me that I had a natural talent. I took that to heart. In high school all I wanted to do was play music, and I developed a reputation for being a “guitar guy.” I continued to practice with my teacher until I was 18 and was close to going to school for it, but decided to take a more traditional academic route. Even now, I play the guitar almost every day and it is a talent and skill that I am grateful to have cultivated over the years. My life in music has led me down a path of creativity I never could have thought possible.
I think I would have still played guitar with or without my guitar teaching telling such a thing, but I do think that putting that idea into my brain gave me the confidence to pursue music as something more than just a hobby.
Come to think of it, I believe that all of my accomplishments have stemmed from the vocal support of my family and friends. My older brother told me that he believed I could get into a good college, so I applied and got in. In every creative endeavor I ventured into, my friends and family said they believed I could do it, so I did. When all of my friends, family, coworkers and mentors said that they believed in me, I changed careers for the better.
I believe that our friends and family see unlimited potential that we don’t see in ourselves. On the flip side, we also see unlimited potential in the people we care about, and sometimes we need to make sure that they know it.
Believing in yourself is tantamount, but as friends and family members we need to support the ones we love and tell them that we believe in them too.
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