Did you beg your parents to let you join the band? No? I didn’t either.

Others may have, but to my knowledge, taking intense musical lessons was not highly sought after by my elementary and middle school peers.

It’s peculiar to me that so few children are envious of the band geeks. Then again…

It wasn’t ‘cool’ to go to piano lessons. It was boring. Why would I want to do that? Most kids want to go to the pool or play video games, or go to the roller rink (whoa, blast from the past). In 5th grade, clarinet classes are not what dreams are made of. [What good does learning the piano do for me anyway?] Kids want to laugh and to play, not be strapped to a chair and forced to replicate mundane, classical riffs 100 times over.

It’s peculiar to me that so few teenagers are envious of the band geeks. Although…

When you’re in high school, it’s time to go on dates, to sneak out to parties, to take your first car for a spin with your best friend. It’s not time to play guitar chords until your fingers bleed. [Show of hands, who wants to go practice their instrument for 6 hours? Zero hands go up.]

It’s peculiar to me that so few adults don’t see ‘joining the band’ as a missed opportunity. After all…

The band geeks will find themselves sooner than later, and the music will capture it all.

Suddenly, emotions like love, lust, passion, anger, anxiety, and rage (some of what makes us human) begin to surface, and the band geeks have an extraordinarily unique way of articulating that. They’ve made a commitment to their craft, and after years of developing it, they can finally use it to express themselves. Over the years, that obligation to music becomes both an expression of identity and an outlet. The band geek has a foundation built on discipline, practice, and craft mastery, and maybe even a career of their dreams.

At the very least, the band geeks will ‘learn how to learn’–a skill that most adults do not have.

It’s not–so–peculiar to me that so many adults are envious of Rockstars.