Human beings need security. You need to know that everything is going to be okay and that you are safe. You grow up usually following the beliefs of some higher power, from there you are encouraged to do well in grade school because you must go to college. You are encouraged to reach high but not too high or else you might end up being discouraged. When you go to college they tell you, "pick a major that will make you successful" not "do what you love." By junior year if you don't have an internship they tell you that you're never going to make it in your field. When you graduate you are expected to get a 9-5 job and to move into your own place. Somewhere along the way you are expected to get married, have kids and live a very cookie cutter life. You must follow the social norm. Unfortunately that is our biggest downfall.
You often wonder at what point in your life do you get to do things simply because you want to not because you're expected to do them. Maybe college isn't the right track for you at the present moment. Maybe you wish to see the world while you still have the freedom to drop everything and just go. There's a voice in the back of your head however that whispers loudly "you must stay on track, you can't fall off." This track that we all follow, it's very straight with one destination. There are no stops on this track because there is no time to get side tracked. You cannot afford to fall off this track or to take a few steps back and see if this is even the right track for you. You simply must shuffle along like everyone else.
At some point down the road you will say to yourself "where did I go wrong?" You may think it is too late to go and travel the world, or to try to become a musician or to fulfill whatever dream it is that you have. You spent a boat load of money at some university to get a piece of paper that says that you are competent to do your 9-5 job. You receive a pay check every week that tells you "I am security, without me you are nothing." In the back of your mind you will always wonder what your life could have been if you chose a different track.
Stop playing it safe. It is not too late to do what you've always wanted to do.
Save up enough money then quit your job. Buy a plane ticket to London, Paris or Rome, wherever your heart desires. Bring your guitar with you. Stay in the heart of the culture. Try the weirdest thing on the menu. Meet someone who shares your passion for music. Sing cover songs with them on the street, make a couple bucks.
After a while you will become accustomed to this new life of yours. Now here's the important part. You need to reflect back on everything that you have done with your life. Your track in college and your 9-5 job or this new more free-spirited life that you are living. Which track are you most happy on? If you truly believe that you were happier with your 9-5 job then at least you can say without a reasonable doubt that you want to live your life that way, and that's perfectly okay. However if you know that a 9-5 job isn't for you, you have now established a new journey for yourself, you won't want up twenty years down the road regretting the path you chose to take.
Stop playing it safe. It is not too late to do what you've always wanted to do.
