I choose to annoy the heck out of my friends and acquaintances. Not because it gives me some twisted sense of pleasure, but because I am living the lifestyle of the local musician. My story is similar to that of everyone else's in my shoes: I was inspired to play rock music in 6th grade, played in bands throughout junior high, and in high school decided to start taking things "serious". But unfortunately just picking up a guitar doesn't pack The Allstate Arena. But badgering everyone you've ever met to buy a $9.00 ticket might get you your mandatory "30 person draw" to Pub Yahoo. It's a rude awakening when you find out that you actually have to convince people to have your idea of a good time. So when you know it's gonna end at graduation and you're not going to become a rockstar, why even bother? Because no matter how bad you sound and how few people are telling the truth when they say they had a fun time at the show, you can take pride in the fact that you're moving toward your dream, even if it might take awhile to get there.