It’s funny how I named my last project Searching The Signals, as searching has become a theme in my postgraduate life. I searched for jobs after graduation, then searched for one better than what I had. I searched for performance opportunities like open mics. Since releasing the “In The Dark” video last year, I’ve been searching for piece of mind to even continue making music. This time last year I took an indefinite hiatus to focus on real-world responsibilities. The Instagram post ended with “See y’all when I have time for music”. Time may be a construct but I can’t change the accepted parameters to add more hours to the day or more days to the week.
Those who follow me on social media may have seen the hashtag #NoFun19. I used it as my personal mantra to press on in the calendar year. When I made that Instagram post, I was still living at home and working a full-time job I “planned” to leave for over a year. I had received an ultimatum to develop an actual plan. It started with adding a part-time job on weekends. Something had to come from all of this in 2019. Things did come, both positively and negatively. I signed the lease for my own place the same day I met with a recruiter. But the beginning of this summer, my full-time laid off half of an an already small staff. Despite my disappointment in not having the chance to walk out on my own terms, I kept #NoFun19 in mind. As long as the world and its billing cycles continued to revolve, I had to keep moving.
So here I am. I searched for the right time to return to music only to realize there is no perfect time. There is only the time you are willing to put in. Between two part-time jobs and a job search, I’m making time. Improving how I write, arrange, record and mix. This time next month, it will be time.