Look How Far You've Come

This past weekend, a good friend of mine for a longer time than I'd like to admit at this point, Steve Murillo, gave his senior recital as a vocal performance major here at York College. He was nothing short of awesome and it has been a pleasure to know him all these years and see him grow as a musician since Ms. Stead's select chorus. His performance had me thinking about both my own college education, and college education as a whole. I won't use the word "jealous" because I feel like that implies that Steve is undeserving of his success. Nothing could be further from the truth. Steve worked his rear off to deliver a great performance and he is worthy of the praise and admiration he received for that and then some. With that said, I was still a bit envious of not Steve as person, but of his opportunity. What I mean to say is that Steve worked incredibly hard for four years to become a very talented musician and finally, this past weekend, his hard work had a chance to culminate, in a sense, in his senior recital. What I envy is Steve's chance to gather the people he cares about most in the world in one place and say to them, "Look how far I've come." I think of my own accomplishments here at York. Rhapsody President has been a difficult and humbling position, as well as a positive experience, and I'm beyond fortunate to have been as successful with radio as I have been with, if you think about it, how brief a period of time I've been involved with it. I think of my writing, both creatively, technically, sports writing, etc. and I take great pride in the strides I've made to find my own voice as a writer in different mediums. I suppose it's the nature of the professional writer to be somewhat introverted, and there is some sort of mystique to doing a good work for your own satisfaction, knowing that people will only see your work if they happen to stumble upon it, rather than needing the attention and fanfare of a public recital. I realize that life doesn't often give you those metaphorical "recitals" to showcase your growth. I suppose that's why you try with all of your might to get involved with things you love. If you're doing something you love, the only approval you need is your own. The bottom line is that life doesn't give out a lot of pats on the head, but if you stay true to yourself and motivate yourself to your own incarnation of greatness, life will take care of itself and before you know it, you're looking back on your life and saying, "Look at how far I've come." At the end of the day, that's enough. Song of the Day: Bag It Up-Oasis Jazz Song of the Day: Pretty Eyes-Horace Silver