Big City Dreams

I saw Eric Paslay in July and before he sang Even If It Breaks Your Heart, which is my top favorite song ever, he talked about chasing your dreams and I will forever remember what he told the crowd. I put his other quote further down, but this one hit me in a way I wasn't expecting. enjoy this blog about why and how it did just that. enjoy. :)

my dream is to go to Belmont in Nashville and take music management courses. I will do two years in Virginia to get the basic courses out of the way, then transfer to Belmont for the last two. nothing makes me happier than when people accomplish their dream or are on their way to it. I guess that is why I love finding newer artists and supporting them before that many people have heard of them. I've known Diamond Dixie since 2015, Stephanie Quayle since 2016 and Jillian Jaqueline since 2017 (not too long, but after I saw her so many people messaged me months after and asked if I've ever heard of her). it makes me beyond happy to see how far all these artists have come since I first found out who they were, just like Kelsea Ballerini. I've been a fan since 2014 and it's crazy to see her topping charts since then. I want to help be apart of someone's success. I want to scout out artists for a living.

people have asked me what I want to do in my future and once I had told them about being a music manager, they either asked me why I don't want to just stay in Williamsburg and run our restaurants like the past three generations of my family or they were like "you should rethink that. you won't get paid well and will have to use up your own money". (look back at that quote up there.) I believe that if I was meant to be a music manager then I won't have to worry about the money aspect. I believe that if I was meant to be a music manager then it'll compensate for me leaving Williamsburg. I believe that if I was meant to be a music manager then that's the reason customers keep coming into my work place from Nashville and have told me about Belmont before I ever told them that Belmont is my dream college. some of our Nashville customers have even given me their business cards for when I move if  I need help finding my way around.  I'm a huge advocate for things being signs and for signs representing people making the right decision and I definitely think that these people that I'm meeting are signs that I'm right on track.

​everyone knows I love to travel. I never really felt like I fit into Williamsburg, so every chance I get to leave it, even for a day, i'll take it. there is a lot of judgment and negativity here. I guess that is why I (for the most part) am an optimistic person. if you're surrounded by negativity then you really have no choice but to be positive unless you want to feel like you're drowning. if you're not the clichéd picture perfect person people want you to be, then people will judge you or if you're more successful than them or even wiser than them, they'll turn your success into some petty thing. I've sort of learned how to get past that, but I want to change it for other people who can't get past it. music is a HUGE part of what helped me brush off negativity and judgment. Miranda knows what she's talking about when she says music is medicine. ;)

​a lot of artists stand up for people who don't know how to. some examples are: "Worth It" by Danielle Bradbery, "Love Is Looking For You" by Miranda Lambert, "The Bull" by Kip Moore and "Bottle Of Rain" by Kathleen Regan. I did a whole blog about my playlist and gave y'all some more song suggestions, but I want to leave you all with these four for this particular blog. imagine if there is an artist who has a message similar to the ones in these songs, but they're undiscovered and can't share the song with the world yet. I want to help give people every chance they get to sharing their voice with the world. music has a way of making people feel complete and as if they have a true, cozy home. I WILL help give someone a metaphorical home and someone telling me "no" is nowhere close to an option.

don't let someone be the firefighter putting out the fire in your heart. if dreams were too big, then how successful would these people I look up to really be? if you don't have a big dream, then that is totally fine. not everyone is made for walkin' the streets of Nashville, New York or even LA. if you don't have a big dream then I just ask you to not try to make someone feel stupid or helpless for wanting to achieve something "too big" or "crazy". it's all about following what sets your soul on fire, my dudes.

​to the dreamers, do whatever your gut is telling you, because your gut knows a heck of a lot more than your brain does. trust me.

​​this is just one tiny puzzle piece in the bigger picture of my goal for my future. I wrote this, because I feel like a lot of people can relate to wanting something "more" out of their career or even their life. this blog can also answer some questions people have asked me about why i want to go to Nashville or give some reason behind the shocked face they give me when "move" and "Nashville" get put into the same sentence hahaha. I hope you have enjoyed this and are excited to follow along with me on my journey. i'll write more blogs about my Nashville dream in the future as my journey starts...for real.