"Those who can't do, teach." A phrase that always lurks in my mind when I chose to pursue education. The majority of my peers were confident in knowing the careers they desired to pursue, but whenever I had family members ask me what it is I want to be, I would feel disappointed to respond by saying that I didn't know, because that was far from the truth. Growing up, the arts and music have always called my name. I always felt that I had a more intense passion for music than just as a school activity. Learning about the complexity in music, whether in song itself, or its evolution in culture and history would intensify my curiosity. Rehearsals would be the only thing I would look forward to most days, because for me that part of my day would be the only activity that allowed me to utilize my passion. However, I had to realize that eventually, the curtain would close. I was encouraged by family members to pursue the medical field, an industry so promising to provide security. However, the medical field never sounded fulfilling to me. One must ask themself, what good is any career if you only see it as work and money? This question is important to me because improvement calls for passion. How can you expect someone to thrive in a career that doesn't give them a reason to go beyond what they have been taught? I realized, no amount of money could persuade me to pursue a field I knew I wouldn't be motivated to make a difference in. With my disdain for the frequent comments to pursue the arts "on the side," I had my mind straight to pursuing theatrics, music, and all the big stages. However, I came across the same question I found myself asking when considering the medical field. Would I be making a difference? It took a long time for me to realize that in my personal journey, performing would only be fun for me, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it just wasn't what I wanted. I truly wanted to make a direct impact, to guide, and lead others, which would not be achieved by putting on a performance onstage. I came to the consideration of pursuing a career in teaching, which brings me back to the quote in the beginning of this personal statement. I felt so discouraged from pursuing a career to teach fearing I would be seen as someone who couldn't reach their dreams to the "full extent", but then I came to ask myself yet another question, "Why is it a competition?" and the answer was, that there was no competition. I know that my calling is within the arts, not because it was just what I thrived in during my youth, but because I know that going forward, I will have the ambition to do more than just clock in and clock out. I would be setting the standard for my students to not only understand what music has given us today, but to create music in their own image. Whether my students would decide to pursue music or not is not important, my job is simply to teach. That includes important lessons that not only apply to music but apply to your life as a whole. The most important lesson which led me to choose this career, is that the way you interpret success should never be a competition, for comparison is the thief of joy. Do what makes you happy, for life is too short not to.