Deciding what you want to do with your life at age 17 is daunting. Many barley know what they want to do this weekend and asking kids to decide their career path so early can cause a lot of stress that can easily be avoided in an otherwise stressful year.

As for me, I knew nothing other than music for my whole life. I failed especially at every sport I was ever put in. I danced, but not well enough to consider going into dance. I did well in school and yet still nothing grabbed me as something I want to pursue for the rest of my life.

That didn't leave much. Many of my friends found something they latched onto. They called it their "calling" and by the time my senior year of high school rolled around, everyone else knew where their hearts were at. I was stuck somewhere in limbo knowing, I had zero clue how to make my dreams a reality.

I knew that it was extremely normal for any senior in high school to have no idea what they want to do. That is why most universities do not make a student declare a major when they apply. The one area where this does not fly is music.

When you apply to a music school, it's a two step process. You have to be academically accepted into the school and then if you are accepted, you have to audition to be a part of the music school.

This double application process makes it almost vital for someone to know if they want to pursue a musical career before their senior year of high school.

So senior year of high school, I sat at the computer with my mom trying to plan audition days. We found the dates and planned our routes. We planned on seven Saturdays in five different states.

Even after auditioning for school, it didn't feel real. I was weary of the fact that in any music program, I would be the minority. I would be among the few non-performance majors who still love and bleed music.

Now, sitting here at Belmont University, I can tell you that it is one of the best decisions I have made. I am among music all day long and at the end of the day, I am able to perform just like everyone else without it being my entire life.

That is in no way me putting down performers. I know that some people are born to be just that. They live, breath and die to sing for an audience. I was not born that way.

So my advice to young kids who LOVE music but are intimidated by the music industry is this: go out and explore all the realms of music that are not performance based. You'll be amazed at what you find and it might just be your calling.