Oh, and...

It's kind of a funny thing, this switching from music, something I've done for the past 20 years of my life, to something completely else. There are two ways to look at it: a) You're a musician! You've come this far! Why stop? or b) You're not a musician! You're still young! Why stay? I guess there's a third way, too: c) What the heck kind of path is this that God is leading me on?! (Probably the correct perspective, though gramatically incorrect.)

I guess A and B are more humanistic views, whereas C leaves little room for my own impetus. It's so easy, sometimes, to cling onto a catch phrase or even just doing what you're used to. But, yeah, especially the catch phrase thing. Either way, you don't have to think. And then you let God take control and you do all sorts of thinking!

The switch has been very good for me and I know Alicia does, and will continue to, appreciate it as well. It's definitely been better than it probably would have been had I tried to take the same courses (and interests, for that matter) 4 or 5 years ago. It's funny moving from music school to real world. Real world, to me, is actually having time for church because I'm not sleeping on a piano in a practice room somewhere. Anyway, it's funny because musicians are supposed to be the open-minded, creative, all different kinds of people type environment. But you move out of a music building and into a church building and you learn so many different things and achieve the glorious "open-minded" status. Until you get back into the music building and tell people where you've been. Then you're closed-minded. To most people, at least. There are a few wonderful exceptions.