If my doubts had a voice, what would they say?

Although I am certain that I am in the right field of studies, I did have my doubts. My love for music is unquestionable. I have been playing the drums for so long now, I often wonder if I wasted my time practicing and playing the instrument because I am now a journalism major. Music keeps me going, and it is crucial to my overall well-being. I can’t go a day without listening to something, playing along to one of my favorite songs, or playing my own music material. Right now, I am in a metal band that I formed with one of my best friends that I met freshman year at the U of O. We both have a strong passion for the genre, and we have been able to start working on our own material this past year. Since he transferred schools, I have had to travel just to jam, write, and do the recording process. It is a big sacrifice for me because the breaks we get during school are now spent traveling to work on my music when I could be spending time with my family. I often ask myself, “Is it even worth it? I am going to school to become a journalist so why go off and do this with your free time?” I would love to be a professional drummer/musician in a band, but there isn’t much money in the profession now with where the music industry is going. Especially in the metal genre, which isn’t necessarily a part of the mainstream like pop, electronic, or rap. There are many years of hardship that await aspiring musicians until they get their break, but many and almost 90% of them don’t. I believe that I am a very good musician and have the potential to do something in the music business. However, I also have plenty of potential to become a very good journalist, and I don’t want to entirely give that up for music. But at the same time, I don’t want to give up music because I am studying to be a full-time journalist. It is weird trying to balance both of the things I love in my life. My parents are very supportive of what I do, but I often feel confused on which path to take, or lean more towards. Like I said before, journalism is a great bridge for these interests, but I do sometimes wonder if I should have decided to pursue music instead. In the end, I love journalism and everything the profession has to offer, and my plan is to enter that field in the near future. I can keep playing the drums for as long as I want, but the only thing I am dreading is making the ultimate decision down the line in which I will probably have to give music up as a career path. However, I don’t have to give up playing the instrument. At the end of the day, anything can happen.