Why the HECK am I doing this?

Hi readers!

The thought of writing a blog is so strange to me, but I'm doing this to get my feelings out there, let my friends and family know how things are going, and to keep myself accountable for some new things I'm doing with my life.

Who am I?

I'm Katelyn Kaiser. I'm 19 years old, and will be entering my sophomore year at Ohio University in Athens, OH (GO BOBCATS!). I'm a musician. My main instrument of choice is flute, and it is my life. I also play piccolo and  love it. I'm studying flute performance and am minoring in jazz studies and business. I want to do big things with my life.

People always ask me what I'm going to do with a degree in flute performance. It pissed me off at first, like, why are you questioning me? But now I'm used to answering this question, because it is a weird major. What do I want to do with my life?

My biggest dream in life is playing as a studio musician for a large production company. Studio musician's are responsible for all of the heartbreaking music you hear when Andy goes to college, the uplifting music when Nemo is reunited with his dad, etc.. Studio musicians are mostly used by animation companies a la Pixar or Disney. Who doesn't want to live their life working for Pixar?

Studio musician jobs are hard to come by. It's almost impossible, actually. Think about it. How many large animation studios are there? This is the list that wikipedia gives me: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_animation_studios

There are probably 2 or 3 flutists (realistically) working for these companies. And some of them hire by project, not for long term jobs. I would gauge my chance as 1 in a million. But a girl can dream, right?

So, what's my backup plan? Symphony musician. These jobs are still hard to come by but getting one means benefits, insurance, and a steady pay check. Most symphony jobs are through the union, which means it is safer then a non-union musician job. I would be happy playing in a symphony with some teaching jobs on the side to supplement my income. Perfectly content. 

I'd also be fine with teaching at a university or college, but after getting symphony experience. I want to be able to help my students prepare for a realistic career, something I don't think I can do without the work experience of a symphony job. Or studio job. Whichever.

What am I hoping to do with this blog?

At the beginning of this post I told you that I wanted to keep myself accountable for things. What things? This is my vow to post a practice video AT LEAST 1x a week. It isn't that hard seeing as I practice everyday anyway. I want the record of my progress. Whether a piece is complete or not, I'm going to record. 

I want to force myself to push my limits and boundaries. I have a habit of taking things safe. I'm boring. I need to push myself through this blog. I want to document my collegiate years and help people understand what a flute performance major does and how it all works. 

Alright readers, I'm going to stop rambling. I'm sure I'll have many more posts to tell you about myself and what I'm doing with my life.