How One Letter Crushed My Nashville Drumming Dreams…Yet Gave Me Everything I Have Today

The envelope sat on the kitchen table, staring up at me. This was it. This moment would decide my future. What was about to take place would set into motion the course of the rest of my life… what friends I’d have, what kind of music career I’d have, where I’d live…who I’d marry. All of this would be determined by one of two words: …pleased… or …regret… Which would it be?

Hundreds of emotions coursed through my unemotional persona on this spring afternoon my senior year of high school. Would my dream college accept me? Will plan A work? I had worked so hard for this. I had practiced like crazy all through my senior year, preparing for a music school audition I honestly had no business attempting. I had never played percussion before, yet I had signed up for a percussion audition. I had never played jazz drumset before, yet I auditioned for the drumset program. My high school drum teacher had put me through a crash course learning 4-mallet marimba, timpani, and concert snare all so that I could pull off this last minute audition I’d decided to do. With about 3 months of experience under my belt, I had auditioned against countless students who had been performing in orchestra, wind ensemble, and marching band all through high school. They’d been doing this for up to 6 years. I’d been scraping by for 3 months.

But despite the rushed learning, I felt like my audition had gone alright. Well enough at least that I honestly didn’t know what the school’s response would be. So this was it. Would my dream school, Belmont University in Nashville, TN accept me as a music student? Would I get to move to Nashville, become a studio drummer, and play on the next hit country record? Time to find out.

I carefully cut open the university envelope, my eyes darting to the first few words of the body of the letter. “We are pleased to inf—

I was in!

My hard work paid off. I’d been accepted into one of the greatest music schools in the country - my first choice program. For the next month of my senior year, I practiced drums like crazy. I was filled with that eager anticipation of what was to come - that thrill of knowing who I would get to study with and what I’d get to learn. This was so exciting.

But there was one other factor that would actually play a pretty big part in whether or not I’d be enrolling at Belmont in the fall.

Scholarships.

Private universities are expensive, and I’d be paying out of state tuition. My attendance hinged upon academic and music scholarships. Without them, I’d be out of pocket or deep into student loans.

The next letter from the school arrived, informing me that I was rewarded both academic and music scholarships. But the amounts were such a small fraction of the total cost of tuition that they were hardly worth mentioning. Colleges often hand out the larger scholarships to multi-instrumentalists or musical theater students who can sing and dance. I didn’t play a rare instrument, and I definitely couldn’t sing or dance. (I pretty much failed the sight singing part of my audition.) So I got the average scholarship that everyone received.

After many conversations with my parents, the cold reality began to sink in. I could go to Belmont for a semester. MAYBE two semesters. Then I’d have to come back to Georgia and go somewhere cheap for the next 3 years. This really wasn’t rational, so I settled in to the new realization that I would not be attending my dream school. We met with folks at the school, and we even discussed options with the president. Everyone was super nice and encouraging, and many faculty suggested I start school in Georgia then transfer up to Belmont for the last year or two. They actually mentioned several well known country artists who did exactly that, spending just the last year of their college education at Belmont.

So it was decided. I’d start off somewhere cheap and close to home. My life plan was force-shifted nearly 180 degrees, and I had to adjust to a new dream.

I think the most rock solid, authentic dreams that we dream have the ability to shift with our changing lives. A shallow, spur of the moment dream is fragile. But one you’ve held onto for years and that you’ve put years of work into isn’t going away easily. It’s flexible. It’s able to morph with your changing life. It’s able to adapt and go where you go and follow you where your life leads. It will always be there, even years later when you revisit it.

I was now approaching the end of my senior year of high school, and most college application deadlines had passed. As the calendar rolled into May, I discovered that my plan B local school was no longer accepting applications for the fall. Too late to go audition there. My other plan B school just didn’t feel right, and it was still out of state. I kind of felt lost at this point. But there was one other school still out there, which interestingly enough had been one of the first schools my family suggested I attend.

Nested in the wilderness of North Georgia was a small private university with a regionally renowned music program. It was more classically centered that Belmont, but the teachers there were incredible and were at the top of their field. This wasn’t my first choice drumset program, but this provided the opportunity to grow in my percussion skills while still working on jazz drumset.

I auditioned for the program last minute (after the published deadline), was accepted, and I even received significant scholarships that ultimately paid for my entire 4 years of school. Did I end up at my first dream school? No. Did I graduate from college 4 years later completely debt free? Yes. And that’s a big deal when you’re a musician. You don’t want ANY debt when you’re starting a music career.

Looking back I couldn’t be more thankful that my college career panned out the way it did. I never gigged regularly in Nashville, but tons of opportunities around Atlanta opened up. I met people I wouldn’t have met otherwise and learned important life lessons I wouldn’t have learned otherwise. I met my wife freshman year of college, whom I dated 3 and a half years then married right after school. I never would have met her had I not taken a chance on a small Georgia school. And I now wouldn’t have a two month old daughter, who I now can’t imagine life without. I never transferred to Belmont, or anywhere else for that matter. I never felt like I was supposed to.

I love having a family, and I’d never trade that for even the most glamorous session career in Nashville if I could have it. I’m 100% glad that my life took the route that it did. Dreams that are real and that are tough - dreams that are made of blood and muscle… They can go with you wherever life takes you.

Thanks for reading, everyone. Stay Non Glamorous!

Stephen