The End is Only Just Come to the Beginning

As I begin the end of my internship here at the Percussive Arts Society I can’t help but reflect upon what I've been through to get here. But more directly what it’s going to take to get to where I’m headed. Sacrifices have been made, but not in vain. From this point on rebuilding is in sight.

I braved bone shattering temperatures during the polar vortex to get to work everyday for months. I've put every relationship on thin ice coming here to pursue an opportunity I wasn't even sure would turn into anything more. But as I do, I can turn even the sourest lemon into the sweetest lemonade. The opportunity I was expecting to pursue folded from underneath me but as life does, it threw me a wonderful curve ball and because I've been thrown so many the past few years I was able to hit out of the park. You can never really be ready for the curves of life, but if you've seen what they look like it’s much easier to adjust accordingly instead of being thrown off balance by them.

So much has happened in the last two weeks. It’s a bit surreal coming back to work and really starting the process over again. From a week long stint on the tour crew for Lindsey Stirling spanning seven cities in seven days, to a Grand Night for Singing at the University of Kentucky, to horse-back riding with my girl at the Kentucky Horse Park gaining grand sunburns, to one of the most beautiful drives I have ever been privy to.

Tomorrow I start training for a job I've been interested in for a long time. As a carriage driver in downtown Indianapolis I will be gussied up in a tux and top hat and courier people about town in a horse-drawn carriage. Outside, breathing the fresh air, getting to meet new people all night, and getting to spend time with grand draft horses. I ask you, what could be better? I only know of two jobs I would rather do than that and if all goes well, when fall comes I will be doing one of those jobs. A bit vague in the description? You bet! Until everything is finalized and I’m doing said job I don’t want to build up too many expectations because I want this to be something that continues further into my career. But for now I’ll be driving horses, looking for daytime work, and drumming.

Even in the midst of all that has happened and is still to come, I can’t forget to keep my chops up. Practicing keeps my hands stretched and my inner clock strong and steady. Opportunities to play may not be flying at me but when I do get one good opportunity I want to be ready for it, whatever it may be.