Personal Legend

     So as you've probably seen my goal is to become a touring musician. It's one of my only goals and I know I should have more, but I have such a love for what I do that I can't imagine a life without it. While material possessions and money are nice there is so much more to this than that. First of all I want the music I create to bring people great joy. I would love for my music to help make people happy and help them out of a rough time. I want to make something that everyone can at least appreciate.
     I also want to be able to travel and see this wonderful world. There's so much to do and so little time. Most people don't get to explore the world and I would love to be able to do that. It'll be great because with a band I'll have my best friends with me and it would be great to also bring my girlfriend with me to travel and have her see everything. Spending time with those closest to me on these adventures would be amazing.
     It would be so much fun, getting to run around on a stage for a living. Just goof off all the time. Obviously there will be a lot of hard work put into it and it won't be all fun and games. But either way it would be better than staying home and working an office job. I just want to bring joy to peoples lives. See the world, be with those closest to me, and just have as much fund as humanly possible.




Here lies Andrew
He was someone many of you knew
He was quite the dork
But was always hard a work
His goal was to always make you smile
One that would last for a while
Even if he was so far away
He was always one phone call away
When he wasn't playing his own shows
You could always catch him watching his superhero shows
Always wanted people to be happy
Sometimes he could be quite sappy
He liked to refer to everyone as dude
and eat lots of fast food
Even though his songs were very fast
He wanted every single moment to last

Gratitude

     I currently do not have a real job, but I am an intern at BMR Music. Basically what I do is teach young kids Guitar, help keep the shop clean, help advertise, host Jam session, and I even take lessons from the owner.I'm really grateful to have this and it's a lot of fun.
     I like teaching because helping out these kids is a lot of fun and I like helping people. It also helps me retain a lot of knowledge I would otherwise forget. Sometimes I learn cool things from the kids and they help me discover new bands and artists. Also working so closely with my Guitar teacher is cool because he's a pretty nice and funny guy.
     Helping around the shop and advertising is good because it helps me learn to interact with people better and even helps me overcome certain social anxieties. The jam sessions I host are great too because there are so many different people that come every time that I'm always meeting new musicians and I learn so much by seeing how all these different people do things and all of the different stuff they listen to.



Show people what you got
Reach for the top
Always try be fast
Always have a blast
Strive for more
So it never becomes a bore
Play a lot of different music
People will think that's pretty sick
Shred the guitar
I will go far
Another day
Always a new way
Another challenge
Helps me gain more knowledge
The sky's the limit
So I will live it

The Wider Path

     My ideal future would be having a job as touring musician and getting to see the world. I'd really like to live in Canada. I'd love to have a nice girl, no children, and make just enough money to live comfortably, I don't need a lot of money to be happy. I'd like to be in a city, but a smaller one. I like having places to go to and things to do. I love living near a store.
     So here's a hypothetical plot twist. One day I'm on my way to the store, I really want to buy some Trix Yogurt, it's a nice sunny day, the birds are singing, children are playing, Dragonforce is blaring through my headphones when all of a sudden I get hit by an ice cream truck.... darn song distracted me as I crossed the street. I go into a coma for 2 whole years. When I wake up I have no memory on how to play the guitar nor do I have a desire to relearn.
     In this alternate timeline I end up getting really good at making breakfast food. So I open up a Breakfast place. I continue living somewhere in the Boston area. Settle down and have just one kid. Live a quiet and opposite life to the other timeline. Eventually my breakfast place becomes a huge chain even bigger than McDonalds ... well maybe not .... but I do open a 2nd place and to me it feels like being as big as McDonalds.




The Universe works in strange ways
Pushing everyone through their stories
Guides them through their destiny
Time after Time
Many opportunities open for me
Many times money is scarce
But the void is filled with joy
And experience
A great mentor gives me the opportunity
To grow and learn
Always surrounded by like minded others
Opportunities for real work may be low
But opportunities for the dream are high
Take them
Listen to the universe
Life is short
The Universe may be hard to understand
But I'll prevail if I possibly can

Vision Board

The reason I chose these images is because they all relate to my future. I posted a lot of pictures of me playing live and some of my heroes playing live. Because in the future I want to be a touring musician. The places I put in there are pictures of Canada and Japan because I am fascinated by Japanese culture and I went to Canada once as a kid and thought it was such a cool place, I really want to go back. I also threw in some inspirational quotes by Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters and Nirvana and a quote by Steve Jobs talking about following your dreams.


Looking into the future
I see
Many Places
Many Faces
Being on the road
It feels so right
The Music
The Energy
Extreme Happiness

Passion

     The thing in life I am most passionate about is music. Ever since I was a little kid I always thought being in a band and making my own songs sounded like the coolest thing in the world. When I was 10 I started playing guitar. By 13 I had started my first band and began playing gigs and going and making recordings at studios. I would absolutely love to be a touring/recording musician for the rest og my life and I'm gonna try my hardest to do that.
     I can easily make a career out of my passion. If I don't play out or record I can always help record other people or teach. Right now I'm currently interning at BMR Music in Malden. As of now I usually take a lesson for an hour and then help out around the shop for a while afterwards. Pretty soon though I'm going to start teaching. I have made some good connections from playing around New England and sometimes I make decent money from the gigs, I'm hoping to put together a small tour sometime soon, I'm friends with some bands who have done it before so I'm sure they can help.
     As for the type of people to market this towards it would just be fans of music, for now mainly fans of Power Metal, but in the future I'm sure I'll do some other things. As for causes I'd work with I guess that would be benefit shows, which I actually have done before. I've done a few shows to benefit the homeless and one to benefit cancer patients I believe .. it was a while ago so I don't remember if it was cancer or for some other disease. I think my work could greatly benefit a lot of people. I write very uplifting music so it could be good to help keep peoples spirits up in a dark time, I know music has helped me get through any I've ever had.




Music speaks to the spirit
Every note has a word to it
Every melody an emotion
It helps light the path
To my journey
When times get tough
It helps me hold on
And leave the past behind
The dark clouds fade instantly
No pain lasts forever
It's tough work
But leads to many adventures
It's a chase to create the ultimate riff
The catchiest melody
The fastest solo
To make people move
To hear the cheer at the final note
So far away seems the day
But determination leads to glory
To rise above the universe

Being Grateful

     There are so many things in life that I take for granted and don't realize it. As bad as it sounds I guess a lot of times it is people. I don't realize how much I love certain people until they're gone. Especially friends, so many friends of mine have come and gone and I wish I cherished our time together more than I did.
    At the same time I am grateful for all those who are or have been in my life, whether it be friends, a girlfriend, or family. Even though I can take them for granted I have learned to be grateful for those who care about me and I care for. I am grateful for all the experiences I've had, especially in my musical journey. I feel very lucky every day.
   One thing I love to take in and absorb are places. Whenever I go to a new and unfamiliar place I love just taking my time there and exploring. I even like doing that with old places in hopes of finding something new or refinding what made the place special in the first places.

Always cherish friends
They keep things bright when it's dim
Learn to enjoy them

The sun keeps life warm
Keeps all the creatures happy
Bring life to the dark

Music speaks to us
Even sometimes without words
It uplifts our paths

Food may seem plentiful
You must always cherish it
For it could vanish

Health is what you are
Sickness could always take over
Always watch yourself

Fears and Obstacles

   Just like everyone else I have my fears and obstacles. I do what I can to get past them, but they are still there. I believe everyone has the ability to overcome fear as long as they put in the effort and face it. Nothing should be able to scare you enough to not pursue happiness in life.
   I honestly fear change. I'm the kind of person that tends to find my comfort zone and stay there. But in life I want to be a touring musician so I have to get past my fear of change since I desire to travel and see new things. I think as long as I have good people by my side it will comfort me while traveling. I also fear failure. I know everyone does, but it is still a fear of mine. This connects a lot to the comfort zone thing, sometimes it prevents me from trying new things or sometimes doing things I know I'm good at in front of people, as I can get scared they won't think I'm good. It's something I can move past, I understand in life that in the wise words of Shia Labeouf sometimes you just gotta "DO IT"
   I do have many irrational fears too. Like the dark. It sounds so dumb, but it is a fear of mine and I used to have a lot of trouble sleeping as a kid because of it. I also had a fear of ghosts and as a kid when it was dark in my room at night my young mind would imagine all sorts of things, I would have myself convinced I saw something or that I wasn't alone. I did get over that fear as I got older, but to do that I just had to face it, I would force myself to sleep in the dark until eventually I got more comfortable. I also one time went ghost hunting which helped me face my fear of ghosts.