Hello everyone! My name is Katy and I blog at The Singing Runner!
I was so excited and honored when Melissa asked if I would be interesting in writing a guest post for her while she is in Kauai (where I know she is having a blast!). Melissa’s blog was one of the first blogs I read when I started my blog back in October and I look up to her so much. She has definitely been a great rock and support system for me!
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It’s Ok To Change Your Dreams
As the name of my blog implies, I am a singer and I am a runner. I have been singing for far longer than I have been running.
While I started running about a year ago, I started singing when I was in kindergarten. My mom put me in the school musical in hopes that I would become more outgoing. I can’t say that I became outgoing (I am actually an introvert) but I did fall in love with performing in musicals.
I loved it so much that I decided that I wanted to major in the performing arts. The 18-year-old me, just graduating high school, wanted nothing more than to perform on Broadway.
So I packed up my bags and moved eight hours away to Winthrop University in South Carolina where I was a Theatre Performance major. The university was great, but not the right fit for my academic needs. I realized early on that I wanted to study Musical Theatre- not just straight theatre.
In the spring, I filled out multiple applications and went on a few auditions before I ended up transferring back to a school in my home state of Florida, about two hours away from home.
My first year at my new school went great. I made some friends and I was in love with my major. I had plenty of performance opportunities and even ended up understudying a leading role in the spring musical!
However, my ambition to perform on Broadway started to change in November. I had just started blogging regularly and was training for my first half-marathon. I found myself becoming more and more interested in nutrition and wellness- to the point where I thought about it more than music!
For months I internally wrestled with this change of heart. I kept telling myself that it was somehow “wrong” for me to feel this way or that these feelings would pass. I was majoring in musical theatre and was halfway through my degree- I couldn’t change it now! And furthermore, since I was going to earn this degree, I would have to do something with it!
Eventually, I came clean about my feelings not only to my parents, but also on my blog. I received so much positive feedback and decided to listen to my heart. I realized that it is ok to change your dreams…as long as you keep dreaming.
Since “coming clean” about my feelings, I have my sights set on finishing my undergraduate degree and preparing for graduate school. I am still going to finish my BFA in Musical Theatre, but I am pushing ahead to graduate in December, a whole semester early, so that I can focus on taking the necessary prerequisite classes for graduate school.
Making the transition from a degree in music to a degree in nutrition is not going to be easy and I have a long road ahead of me. Since my current degree is performance based, I only have to take one science and math course (both of which I have already done). However, for most of the potential schools on my list, I need to take two semesters of chemistry, statistics, biochemistry, nutrition, etc. I have to take these classes in addition to the classes I need to finish my degree. However, I know that I can achieve anything I put my mind to.
I have decided that I want to specialize in either sports nutrition or adolescent nutrition and become a Registered Dietitian. I would either like to work with college athletes (comes from my heavy sports background in high school) or with children. Inspired by my recent spring break trip to Costa Rica, I would love to develop a nutrition program and go to Costa Rica for an extended amount of time to teach children about nutrition.
I will always be a singer and a performer, but I do not want to do it as a career anymore. I was in denial for so long, because I didn’t want to feel like I was wasting my music degree. However, there are so many aspects of my music degree that I can use in a career in nutrition/ dietetics. I have learned public speaking and communication skills that are extremely valuable. I can work well within group settings and I am a great planner. Furthermore, I have great work ethic and I am a planner. I am not sure if I would have gained this valuable skills set in another major.
My music major has forced me out of my comfort zone, but has also made me realize that I need to keep dreaming big. I am no stranger to dreaming big- I am currently training for my first marathon, something I never would have imagined doing! As C.S. Lewis said, “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.”
This is a big leap of faith, but I know in my heart, that it is the right one. With the support of my family and of course my readers, I will succeed!
Feel free to follow my journey to grad school and stop on by my blog! I absolutely love the support of this community and reading new blogs!
Thank you so much Melissa for allowing me to share my story!
2 comments:
Katy, we have so much in common! I went to school and graduated with a degree in art, and two years later decided I wanted to become a nurse. I think I was more afraid to let people know that I wanted to be a nurse than actually going and doing it. I thought everyone would think I was crazy because all my life I'd been their little artist!
Good for you and good luck!
The road to happiness and fulfillment begins with a dream. Then, you either need the courage to make them real or the fear of knowing that you'll never achieve them.
Both can equally propel you forward.
Great post.
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