Monday, May 6, 2013

Juggling Two Dreams... Teacher Vs Musician

Its been about a year and a half since I last posted anything on here... And if you're looking for consistent rantings from this brain of mine, I truly apologise!! There has been quite a lot going on and definitely a lot worthy of posts on here but just not enough time!

Two years ago I officially moved back home from Liverpool to Egypt. A revolution had just swept through Egypt and I wanted to be here for it. I wanted to help somehow, to stand up for what I believed in. I also wanted to crack my way back into the underground music scene and to leave my mark.

It took me months to sort out licensing and approvals for my album but it was finally released last November and can now be found in stores such as Virgin Megastores, Diwan, Kotob Khan and Bikya amongst others. The gigging side of things havent been going according to plan as its been quite difficult to find the right musicians to work with. I have however, managed to find two brilliant musicians - a guitarist and a violinist to work with and so we have been rehearsing as a trio until we find a bassist, percussionist and drummer.

A year and a half ago I started working at an International school here in Cairo. I started off as a teaching assistant between both the primary and secondary performing arts departments but then a twist of events meant that before the end of the first term I had become a fulltime music and drama teacher in secondary and was studying for my PGCE! Last summer I completed my teaching qualification and am now armed with it!

Now full time teaching is quite exhausting! It had always been a dream of mine, to become a teacher. As a kid I used to line up my dolls and teddy bears, hand out my old copy books and pretend to deliver a lesson. I used to observe every teacher I had and pick characteristics I wanted to have and ones I definitely didn't want. Its a very challenging job and quite fun... but again very exhausting!!

A recent conversation with a friend of mine who had quit his job and decided to pursue his dreams in music and other projects, had me questioning whether I was truly on the right track to making my dreams a reality.

It got me thinking that in a way I was actually pursuing two dreams at the same time. On one hand there was the musician/performer dream which was on a slow path... facing obstacle after obstacle but still soldiering on... and on the other hand there was the teacher dream, inspiring the younger generation, nurturing their creativity and trying to make a difference.

My friend had suggested that I quit my teaching job since it wasn't leaving me with much time to rehearse and gig and write... but my answer was but I love doing it and I love my kids!!
I guess I just need to learn how to juggle a bit better... (I actually dont know how to physically juggle anything!!) Perhaps if I do inspire just a handful of students to do something different with their lives, to think outside the box, to push the limits, to be comfortable with who they are and to embrace it... then it'll all be worth it...



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