Luke's New Journal

It's hard to see amazing band performances by other high schools around the country and not feel a little bit discouraged about my own group. When I see these "professional" high school groups perform, I start wondering what they would think of the high school groups in our area. I'm sure they would absolutely rip us to shreds. If one of those students had to move to our area, they most certainly wouldn't be interested in performing with us because of the complete disconnect between our two realities. But I also see myself as someone who could belong to both worlds. What's stopping me from going to a big city to lead a nationally recognized ensemble? If I really want those high-quality performance experiences, then that's where I need to go - at least that's what I start thinking when I get discouraged. However, I'm starting to understand that it's not all about making my group as good as those groups. If that were the goal, then it would be ...

By the time I turn 30, I want to get rid of my bad habits and replace them with better habits. One of those habits that I want to get rid of is spending too much time on Reddit and Facebook and then checking the news, especially while I'm at work. I am going to hold myself accountable for staying off of these distractions, even when it is well-meaning. After all, I can always post a question at any time of day, which means I can wait until I get home to post or check replies. So today, I'm not going to check any of those websites that usually get me caught up during the middle of the day.