Whereas my brothers consistently played ice hockey, I flip-flopped a lot, trying a variety of sports and not really enjoying any of them, except for swimming which I became too old for anyways. As they started to excel in hockey, I felt inferior to them as I was not good at anything. I was subpar at the sports that I did try. So, I decided to concentrate and focus on academics. I worked on bonus assignments and did extra credit even though I did not need it. I studied extensively in my free time. I excelled with consistently high marks. The only class where I received a low grade was in Gym as I was not athletically inclined. Receiving top marks made me feel good. It was something that I was good at. It distinguished me from my peers. My parents’ emphasis on the importance of grades helped buoy that sense of pride that I had. As they warned us that if we didn’t get good grades, we would end up homeless or working a minimum wage job at a fast food restaurant, I was sure that my academic excellence would ensure a bright future for me.

Even with my excellent academic record and my job expectations lowered, I still dreamt of becoming a music composer. Although I knew that this dream was unrealistic, I still wrote about it in my Grade 10 Career Studies class:

My Dream Job…

My dream job is to be a music composer. Music composers compose original music. They compose for a variety of media, from operas to TV shows to singers. I want to be the type of music composer who creates songs for artists/singers to perform and record. In order to be able to compose musical pieces, music composers must have sufficient knowledge about music theory and be capable of playing at least one musical instrument. I think that a music composer would be a perfect career for me for the following reasons. I have been playing the piano for over eight years and have passed my RCM Rudiments 2 theory exam. Also, I am currently in RCM Grade 9 for piano. In addition to piano, I have also played the clarinet and the guitar. Most of all, I love music. My world revolves around music. Music can lighten my mood and make me feel better. Music plays with my feelings and emotions. I would love to compose songs that would relate to people’s feelings and situations. To some people, music is an escape from reality and I want to be one of the imaginative people who can provide that much-needed escape.

As a music composer, I would be composing ballads, mid-tempos, and up-tempo songs. I would have to create melodies, harmonies, rhythms, and beats. I would need inspiration to propel me to compose amazing compositions. I would have to heed the ideas of the artists who I am working with, in order to create a composition that they would be content with. At times, I would create a piece of music without the input of singers. Then, I would record a demo to offer to various artists to see if they would accept to record the song. I would be working at professional studios, at home, and at singers’ homes. Furthermore, I would be traveling a lot, because of the diversity of talent that can be found world-wide. I may also have to work with singers while they are on tour, due to their busy schedules. I would work with various singers to produce exciting music for their albums. I would also be working with other music composers, songwriters, and record producers in order to produce a final product for singers to release commercially. This is the premise behind being a music composer. The best part of being a music composer would be having the opportunity to meet and work with famous singers worldwide. This would also provide the perfect chance to ask for their autographs.

There are certain prerequisites to become a music composer. Music, technology, computers, drama, and visual arts are some suggested courses to take in high school. While in college and university, the courses to take to become a music composer are music composition and theory, music, music history and literature, music performance, jazz studies, and music conducting.

I would love to compose music for my favorite artists and groups including: Rihanna, Katy Perry, Lady GaGa, Shakira, Britney Spears, Akon, Stereos, Jay-Z, Kris Allen, and Adam Lambert. Some of the top music producers, composers, and songwriters who I would want to work alongside are David Guetta, Dr. Luke, Max Martin, Stargate, Timbaland, Ryan Tedder and RedOne.

Music composers can get paid by the minutes or for every composition that they produce. Their salary ranges from $2,000/song to $100,000/song or from $375/minute to $700/minute. Luck, talent, and persistent determination play important roles in the success of a music composer’s career. Overall, my dream job is to become a music composer who gets to work with the big names of the music industry around the world.

My dream job at this time was a music composer, but of course, that was a dream. During my years in high school, Mother reiterated to my brothers and I, “The only good jobs are a doctor, dentist or lawyer. That’s it!” Since I hate politics, I didn’t want to become a lawyer. Since I didn’t want to deal with blood, I chose not to pursue becoming a doctor. Thus, I chose dentistry, the last remaining option.

As a result, I decided to do my career profile for my Career Studies class on orthodontics as it was more ‘realistic’ and ‘reasonable’ than music composing. Why orthodontics? Well, I loved money when I was young. I always searched up luxury cars and five-star hotels online. I wanted to stay at Four Seasons resorts, ride in a Rolls-Royce Phantom and own a Mercedes Maybach. My obsession with wealth was probably a result of my parents’ emphasis on it and the media glamorizing the lifestyle of the rich and famous. I learned from Mother that orthodontists make more than regular dentists. Also, their job seemed fairly easy from what I was able to see as an orthodontics patient. Orthodontists would just spend a few minutes with each patient while their assistants would do most of the work. Of course, orthodontists do much more work behind the scenes, but from a patient’s perspective, their job seemed easy. So, I thought that becoming an orthodontist would be perfect.