What Is Your Quintessence?

          Hi. My name is Joelle, I'm 24, and music is the only thing in life that has ever made me quintessentially* ecstatic. I've been told I make very interesting faces at concerts (shrugs awkwardly).

       Music saved my life. When I was 16, I had to stop my dance career because of a sustained injury, and I fell into a horribly dark mentality. When I started writing music, my life had meaning again, and now I know that I'm meant to do something with music.

       The world needs music; something that transcends language, culture, belief, and opinion-- something that brings people together. And I intend to contribute to that. 

          Please join me on my journey; I can't do this alone. God has given me the ability to create, and I just wish I knew how to share that. At the moment, I can barely get people to share my two official songs. They listen, and then they forget. I need to figure out how to get the opposite result: sharing, being inspired and thinking and moving forward.
           It takes a village; we need to support each other. Is there anything I can encourage you with? Email me or comment below.
           Share your dreams and make them stronger!

           With encouragement, 
           Joelle


P.S. 
My new braces have moved my teeth just enough that the molars don't currently touch enough to chew, so I now want to impart unto you, my dear reader, the joy for and realization of the extreme under-appreciation that we as a species have for chewing. 
Thank you.


* Quin·tes·sence   /ˌkwinˈtesəns/   noun. 
1. The most perfect example of something.
2. The central, most refined essence of an idea or substance.

Feeling Blue... Or Green?

   Lately, I've really been thinking a lot about jealousy. We all have it toward someone.... an enemy, a friend, a colleague. I also have trouble with being jealous of others I meet in the music business; I just feel so inferior when I see others’ talent. Why can’t I be that good? There IS this thing called practice and determination, though, and I plan on getting to the place where I personally feel equal to really talented people around me. And honestly, it’s hard. But I am not going to give up, because music is what I live for. And I don’t feel like not living just quite yet.

   To help with my description of this, and to make it more interesting, I’m using the example of my past jealousy toward my brother, who is… well, smart. Not just normal smart, but really smart. It’s really quite annoying, to be honest. ;) He lives and breathes numbers, and I'm just feeling a little.... inferior. You know what I mean. He's really, really smart, and I, being a few years older, almost can't stand it. If you put us each in a chair, and put a huge math problem in front of us, the immediate effect would be this:

  My brother, pencil poised, would be surrounded by a glow, his eyes wide in anticipation, an invisible voice singing aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!*
   Then you'd look toward my seat. Your first thought would be, "Where'd she go?" Then you would squint, and realize that the very top of my head could still be seen, though barely, above the table. And hey, what do you know, there's something floating above my chair. "Is that a storm cloud?! And it's raining, too!"**

   I've been trying to cope with this feeling I get when someone else is better at something than I am, but it's so hard. But after thinking about this a while, I think I've come up with a list of ways to help both me and you solve the green-eyed problem. Let me know what you think, and if you've got any input, let the rest of us know! You never know who it might help. Here goes:

    1) stop thinking about what they're so much better at than you, and instead concentrate on what you can do that they can't. We've all got our weak spots. Think about the things that set you apart.

    For instance, I'm better at the arts (creative writing, drawing, music) while my brother is better at more.... I guess you'd say technological (?) things (math, all sciences, etc.).

    2) don't compare yourself to them. Why do you feel the need to? Do you think you have to be better than them? Everyone is so different, so unique, we really can't compare ourselves to other people. What will you gain from comparing, anyway? You'll just grow bitter and unfriendly towards that person the longer you feel that way. It won’t help anything.

         This is the concept I struggle with the most. He's around all of the time.... how can I not compare us? This is really a question of will. If you want to remove yourself, you'll be able to. It will take time, and a little help from others, but you'll be able to do it.

    3) This is the last step: feel happy for them. They have natural talents– you don't have to let them know, but be glad they have something they can do well and be proud of. You also need to feel this way toward yourself; get excited about what you can do! Also, my brother’s good at math and science. Do I care about math and science, beyond basic knowledge? NO! So why bother with any jealousy? I now have a live GPS and calculator that I can use whenever I need. The only negative side is the sassiness that comes along with using my brother’s services. :D

    4) Finally, for an extra oomph, use that feeling you get to push yourself to improve, if you still care. Back to my beginning example: Someone’s better at singing than I am? LET THE EXTRA PRACTICE SESSIONS BEGIN. I’m gonna catch up.

           And if you still have trouble letting this go, write it all out. Seeing your thoughts in front of you helps you figure things out. It works.... believe me, I know. :) These are my thoughts. What are yours?

*, ** dramatized version.