"to cause to come into being, as something unique that would not naturally evolve or that is not made by ordinary processes."
I love coffee. Whether its out of my Keurig, from a local shop, or even to the mega-corp of Starbucks, it's something I rarely turn away. What is it about coffee that I love? Is it the taste, its warmth, or its smell? No. It's the mood and feeling of coffee that I love. The idea that I can take time to just BE. That I can take time to scroll through Instagram, read a good book, talk with a close friend, or even write a blog post. Coffee, for me, is a call to slow down and think.
I finished my Doctor of Music degree in Voice in 2020. I presented my final project through the tiny camera on my laptop while in my COVID-free sanctuary, wishing that I could have presented it in-person to family and friends. So many months of writing. Years of practicing. And then, I was done.
Obviously, there was a feeling of relief, a feeling of joy and celebration. In the coming months though, I fell into a creative desert. I was teaching music and experiencing it, yes...but my artist's soul was dry. Whether it was coming from 10 years of school, numerous auditions and rejections, COVID, I don't know. But now, I see that it has provided me a place to begin again. It's given me time to BE - to slow down and think.
So maybe my coffee mood addiction has a place? Maybe it shows that I can give myself space to create - a place to make intentional choices to evolve through music. My goal with this blog is to give my thoughts regarding voice/opera/music/whatever else a space to BE. I never saw myself as a "blog" person. I'm shy and private person...I can't even tell waiters to change my order if it's wrong! But, I want to create a space to grow and see new possibilities with my music. So who knows, maybe this could be the start of something.
-CJ
