In a previous article, I wrote about my struggle in deciding between playing music and doing science. After writing that article, I was curious as to whether other seniors at Fossil Ridge High School were juggling the same problems. I talked to people from choir, orchestra, and band about their plans for music after high school and their career goals in that path.

I began my investigation by talking to Travis Turner, a choir student at Fossil. He plans on continuing to apply his musical skills by studying music theatre in college. “I have always had a passion for theatre, and I think this will be a good package for my knowledge of music theory and choir skills as well as my passion for theatre,” said Turner. He added, “I hope to build my career as an actor in theatre, and I hope to one day perform in Broadway and have success there.”

I continued my investigation by talking to Chaz Bay, a percussionist in the Fossil band program. He is not looking into college, as he hopes to be involved in audio engineering as soon as he graduates high school. “I really enjoy the production of music and creating something out of nothing,” said Bay. When I asked why he made this decision, Bay explained, “I want to do something that I am passionate about, and I don’t want to go to college and spend a lot of money for something I have no interest in. I want to be happy doing my job right out of high school rather than work at a job that I wouldn’t enjoy.”

Finally, I met with Adam Roller, a violist in the Fossil orchestra program. He does not plan on continuing playing music after high school. According to Roller, “combining the academic rigor of engineering with track and possible work, I don’t think I will have the time to play the viola in college.” However, he says he still wants to have music in his life. “I still appreciate music and will pass down my music interests and skills to my kids as well. I would also like to see classical performances in my community,” explained Roller.

From this small pool of musicians, I determined that music impact people in different ways, and based on people’s interactions and connections with music, people will decide to either continue music as a career or keep it as an interest. Every musician I know has told me that they would like to continue being involved in music, but some of them decide to dedicate more time into music. Musicians who decide to make music a career choose a difficult path, and I am both worried they may lose their passion for music and jealous that they decide to do something I wasn’t brave enough to do.

I didn’t mention this in my previous article, but over the two weeks it took between that previous article and this one, I determined that I wanted to pursue a music minor in college as well as science. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pursue that path, but talking to other musicians made me confident with my decision. This decision felt like a compromise, even though I won’t be able to continue music past college as a music minor.

In the end, when deciding what to study in college, I learned from these musicians that doing what makes me happy is more important than giving up my dreams for something that guarantees me more success in the future. This investigation helped me understand the decision process people make for their futures. For all prospective musicians also considering to play music in their futures, I hope that my struggle as well as the decision process of others can have an impact on your decision.