I'm a music major right now. I'm graduating next semester. So, for me, the next logical step to take would be auditioning for grad school. Am I doing that? No. But it's OK.

I didn't know what I wanted to do until I was a sophomore in high school, and even then, I wasn't positive. All I knew was that I was pretty good at playing the flute, so I wanted to do something with that. Eventually, that passing thought developed into a desire to be a music education major.

As I got closer to college, I realized that I might want more than a music education degree. I realized that what I really enjoyed was the performance aspect. So then, as a senior in high school, I decided to double major in both music education and music performance. Did I know what was involved in a double major like that? No. But it's OK.

I never allowed myself the chance to wonder what I would do outside of a music-focused career. From the time that I decided on music education in high school, I put on "thought blinders" when it came to my career. If it wasn't about music, I wasn't about it.

Things continued on like this until this past summer. I had decided on a few grad schools to audition for and I was working on audition music when it hit me — What if I didn't go to grad school? It wasn't like all of my friends were planning to go. A lot of them were music education majors and wanted to get a job right after they got their degree.

I started looking into a few jobs that I could pursue after I graduated, but not seriously. I still had my "thought blinders" on. I was still prepping for grad school auditions. Then I was forced to change my perspective.

In June, I had a stroke. I know, I know, that's all I write about. But hear me out — it forced me to make a lot of tough decisions that I was avoiding. Grad school was still an option, but it wasn't as solid of a choice as it was before. I had other things to worry about now (like learning to walk, talk, and feed myself).

I can't play my instrument as well as I used to. And not for lack of trying. This semester has kicked my butt so far. I've been practicing as much as a recovering stroke victim can, but it doesn't seem to be enough. I'm getting by, but I'm not excelling like I used to. I'm surviving, not thriving, and I don't like that feeling.

Once I took off those "thought blinders", I tried to find things that I could still do. I like art. I like to create. I always hated writing in high school, but I figured that I'd give it another try.

I started writing here and there. It felt good to know that my voice was being heard. Writing came naturally to me. Recently, it's felt more natural to write than to play my instrument. That's when I started to write for Odyssey.

I worked my way up from a Creator to a Contributing Editor. From there, I worked my way up to be the Editor in Chief, and boy, am I proud of myself. Here I am, doing something that I enjoy. Here I am, doing something that I'm good at.

I've started to ask around about freelance writing. I'm broadening my after-graduation horizons. I'm planning to take a gap year and just freelance write. I'm planning to build a portfolio and see where it takes me. If I really miss music, then I'll go to grad school. But if I don't... Then I won't. Then I'll know that I'm right where I was meant to be.

I know it's not going to be easy. I'll have a degree in a completely different area. But I'm still going to try. And I still have a plan. And I know that everything will fall into place. Everything has happened for a reason.