On Doing What
You Can’t Not Do.
“Find something that you _can’t not_ do.”
I just got out of my Creative Economy class where we spoke via Skype with Marty Ashby, the Executive Producer of Manchester Craftsman Guild (MCG) Jazz, where we discussed his life and career as a jazz musician as well as his work with MCG in doing outreach for the jazz program he had built from the ground up about 28 years ago. There was a moment where he was speaking to us about how he drafts his daily plans for outreach and networking when he said the quote above this paragraph. When expanding on this idea, he said that jazz music is something that speaks to the very core of who he is, and that he just needs to have a guitar nearby so he can pick it up and play it when he needs to. He then promptly picked up a guitar and played a short progression for us.
At that moment, and I’m going to paraphrase an expression from a dear friend and mentor that he constantly brings up in one of his workshops, it “felt like somebody kicked open the door to my heart.” Let me explain why.
Last night, Ithacappella, a group of my closest brothers in song and in life, elected me to serve next year as the President for the 2015–2016 school year. Up until that point, and even for a little after that point, I really had no idea whether or not I was going to be a good fit for the Presidency. I have had difficulties in the past managing a position on the group’s executive board in addition to my schoolwork. Since the last time I was on the board, I have significantly improved in areas such as time management and effective managing of my coursework for each semester, but the idea of becoming the President still scared me. I know that with my Senior Year comes the production of my Senior Thesis Film Project which, if it’s anything like the current film project I am working on, is an incredibly taxing endeavor. This doesn’t even factor in the additional coursework I’m going to have to accomplish during the semester. As one can see, I definitely had some sound reasoning to be afraid.
But when I heard Mr. Ashby speak to us about “doing what you can’t not do” today, I came to a very important realization: There are two things in my life right now that I believe make up the very essence of who I am as a person:
- Creating, talking about and loving movies, and
- Singing, most importantly, singing with others.
Studying and creating film and video content is something that I will always admire and be passionate about, as long as there are new stories and ideas that are left to be told. But I think I’m only now coming to the realization that leading Ithacappella is something that I cannot just disregard in my life. I need to do it. The moments I’ve shared onstage with the gentlemen that have come and gone in the group are some of the most priceless moments in my life thus far. It feels natural and _right_ for me to take that next step and help facilitate more of those amazing moments for the next incarnation of the ensemble.
Sure, it’s going to be very daunting with my Thesis looming, as well as the other coursework, but I know I can do it and still be a great leader. My reasoning? I know I want to make time for both the coursework and the extracurricular activities that I love doing, because they are simply two elements of my life that I _can’t not do_. I can only hope and pray that this translates over into my professional life, and I think as long as I have the same desire to keep these two mediums in my life, it’ll happen.
So now, I challenge you all who are reading this post to do the same thing I did. Find something in your life that defines the very core of your being, something that you _can’t not do_ .
Then, in spite of the possible stress and fears you may have about, in spite of the possibility of failure, and there may be failure, throw caution to the wind and do it. Why refuse something that you can’t live without?
