When I was 13 years old, I remember seeing a friend playing guitar and singing at the same time. I was instantly amazed, and also instantly told myself, "I can't do that".
What I realized later is that I also was telling myself "I'm not a musician". By comparing myself to friends in high school who were in bands and already performing in front of audiences, it was easy to see that although I owned a guitar and loved music, some of us were naturally gifted, and some of us weren't.
I was resigned to hold my enthusiasm for music as a listener and a concert-goer, never truly seeing myself as a musician.
That all changed one day when I was asked to perform with a friend's band. By playing bass, I was given an introduction into live music, and after the show was asked to join the band. The next year of my life gave me so many opportunities to help write, record, and perform music, and for the first time in my life I was realizing I was a musician. Maybe I'm not the most talented guitar player or drummer, but I had the opportunity to express myself.
Eventually, our band went our separate ways, and I discovered freestyle rapping in the summer of 2012. It was through this expression that I felt the most alive and open I have ever felt, and after a couple years of doing this for fun and making beats, I decided to focus my energy on writing songs and fully expressing myself.
Since then, I've released 11 songs that I have written, produced, and mixed, as well as 7 music videos, allowing me to fully express myself through not only music, but video as well.
This leads me to the moral of my story. Whatever excites you, go for it! Chase it, discover it, invest in it. You never know where it will lead you, and my experience is indicative of that. I never would have imagined I'd be a rapper and be on stage pouring my heart out, but there was always room for these experiences in my heart.
If something excites you, run to it and explore it!
Thanks for watching!
Much love,
Bryan Divisions
