This is a printer friendly version of an article from www.thedailytimes.com
To print this article open the file menu and choose Print.
Article published Jul 4, 2008 Inside the mind of a musician: ‘An Artist’s To-Do List’
By Tarani Duncan Special to The Daily Times
This summer I had one goal: I wanted to keep my options open.
I wanted to go without plans, and I wanted anything that happened to happen by chance.
Even as a writer I feel sometimes the best way to get to know yourself isn’t to wait for a pen to spell it out for you.
Hate to say it, but I’ve been taking this writing stuff too seriously. I was living a life I had sculpted in my imagination. I caught myself completely ignoring reality and being crushed in the small space between my pen and notebook.
However, I will say writing has been a haven, a beautiful sanctuary for me. It has opened me up to another side of myself that I’m incredibly grateful to have met.
My point is sometimes we become so captivated by a special something, we lose independence. Living in a way I felt was aesthetically pleasing was not the crime, but being part of a generation that has become so engrossed in blogs and indie movies, I can only say beware. We all have addictive personalities. And ultimately, your addiction, whether it’s drugs, writing or Facebook, is going to sell you short of the life you deserve if you forget to continue living outside of it.
With drugs, it takes more and more to get your next fix. With writing, you run out of material or drive yourself crazy.
This summer I’ve decided I’m finally letting myself go.
I’m looking the imaginative girl in the face that I’ve grown to love for 18 years and saying “Thanks, it’s been real. I’ll always carry pieces of you with me, but I feel like it’s time to move on.”
And that’s why waking up with a clean slate is at the top of my list (alongside of waking up with an actual to-do list instead of fantasizing all day). I’m letting myself go, but more importantly, I’m letting myself go and do things I’ve always wanted. It’s all about action instead of inaction. In my case, it’s about riding it out instead of writing it out.
Every night before I go to sleep I plan on falling into a new day, ready for a new adventure, guitar in hand, happily gravitating toward wherever the path may lead.
So, in conclusion the “to-do” for week No. 1 is to take action. Reread old journal entries, look at your online profiles, find what it is that turns you on and begin living outside of the space between the pen and paper.