August 19th, 2006 was In The Wake’s first show. In The Wake was a heavy metal band that I sang in. Thinking back on that day highlights some of the early proof in my life that when you desire a thing enough, you will see it manifest reality. I would go to concerts all the time when I was growing up and see bands like Korn, The Misfits, Killswitch Engage, Avenged Sevenfold… And I always envisioned myself on the stage. I almost hated being part of the crowd. There was nothing more satisfying, in my eyes, than being on stage. Three years after High School, I was on stage. I was up there with my best friends that I had once been in the crowd with.
There are a lot of great memories from the “band days” but one that always sticks out is when we played a small VFW in a small town called Ford City in Pennsylvania. The stage was pretty much eye-level with the audience. What made this show so special was that I couldn’t hear any of the instruments behind me, or even my own screaming voice (Remember it was a metal band, so I screamed like a maniac.) The reason I couldn’t hear anything was because of the crowd. Their cheers and screams were so loud that it drowned out a metal band. What an experience. To scream at the world and have it’s returned roar decimate your’s. But not decimate as if to destroy, rather carry your’s into its grandeur.
This experience truly showed me that when your screaming your lungs out at your dream, it screams right back and lifts you higher. Life ignites life.
There is really nothing more important than seeing yourself somewhere and doing everything you can to get there. The things you’ll see, experience, and feel will be like nothing you can ever know by living a safe, comfortable, and secure life (those last three words almost made me puke.)
Living in accordance with your dreams is the worst and best thing you can ever do.
It’s the worst thing when no one supports you, you keep failing, and your own mind even starts to pull toward, “what the hell am I doing?”
It’s the best thing when you’ve shown yourself that what once seemed impossible was very much the opposite. It’s the best thing when your heart is lighter and more full of life than it could ever have otherwise been. It’s the best thing when your ex-girlfriend that broke up with you two weeks before you played Warped Tour is now standing there while you’re signing autographs. Go after your dream. Trust me.
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