As most of you know that have been following my blogs, I've been having a lot of trouble with school, and whether to stay in, drop out, and how I regret the past and hate myself for not doing what i wanted to do out of highschool.

For those of you that don't know, ill sum it up briefly. I basically never went to school for what my dream was after highschool. Ended up taking 3 years of schooling in traditional 4 year universities, hopping between different majors, and literally hating every second of it. The hate led to a lot of depression because i regretted the past, and was confused on what to do since i was already in 3 years... though i will mention i only had 60 credits as i went part time two semesters. And it's not like i was struggling academically or anything. I have a 3.7 GPA, but i just feel like lots of college is bullshit, isnt really giving you the skills you need to work, and my heart wasnt in any of the majors i "thought" i had interest in

The last year had been spent really dwelling on what the i wanted to do with my life, and more importantly my school already. In all honesty i wanted to go back to school for what i wanted to do from the start, but the time and money i had invested thus far were a really hinderance to my decision. I wondered if i should just finish my stupid degree or drop out. That basically sums up all my woes, if anyone wants to know more, or read my views on it all, you can find it in my blog archives.

ANYWAY.... like i said, ive been doing a lot of thinking lately, and....

I decided to drop out.

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I didnt give up though. I decided to pursue technical school for music engineering with hopes of working on game audio. (theres also a story why i chose technical school over a traditional school - see blog archive for the story if interested) I started looking into different schools, and after fishing through about 8 or so reputable places, i narrowed it down to 2 schools that had VERY SOLID programs.

I spent a good 2 hours on the phone with each place, going over everything. One school was in Arizona, and another in California. I had really originally wanted to go to the school in California, as they program seemed a ton more professional, and not only were they a training institute, they were a full fledged production studio that did lots of work, so you had a really good network of connections by going there. There game audio focus seemed to be deeper too, but after 2 phone calls to them, speaking to two different representives, really their program and school turned out to be really blown over the top. Their prospectus and website were just really flashy, but once i started getting the details and pushing tricky questions, they sunk really quick.... REALLY quick.

Not only did the school in Cali. kinda turn out to be crap, but even if it had been a great school, i had no idea how i was going to be able to afford to live there. The lowest rent i found was $1400 a month... A FUCKNG MONTH. That didnt even include utilities. The average rent for the san francisco area was $2500 a month...

$2500 a ing MONTH!!!

seriously, i dont make that much in 2 months. (lol at my 12k a year job. HEY i just am working for some money!) I really can't imagine how anyone could live there, much less me....

Thus, i decided to apply to the school in arizona.

http://www.audiorecordingschool.com/

While they didnt seem to be the best at first, after talking to my admissions representive, he was really honest and open with me, and told me the good and the bad of the program. he even recommended other schools to consider going to, or ways to enhance my skills further after training there.

After two hours on the phone with him, I'm positive i want to go there, and if everything falls through, (have a phone interview on tuesday) I should be heading up to Arizona in January.

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All and all, to sum it all up, for the first time since I've got out of highschool, I feel VERY GOOD about my schooling decisions, and to describe the feeling as simply as i could, i just feel... AT EASE. and man, it feels wonderful.

I"m so happy to honestly feel for once that I'm finally on my way to working towards my dreams, and I can't even tell you how excited I am to start my training. Its going to be very challenging, yes, but this is my passion, and when you love something a lot, you don't mind busting your ass working for it.

Not only that, but the program and beenfits they offer are a lot better then anything their forms or website says. The school is accredited and offer government financial aid. HUGE. It is partnered with a housing authority that will find places for you to stay and roomates to dorm with if you want to cut costs. HUGE. It gives you a free laptop package, which you get to keep after you graduate! I'm really looking forward to the pack, its a macbook pro, a few DAW (digital audio workstations) software, mics, headphones, midi keyboard, and fireline recording box. It really is like this really nice mini studio, all yours for free!

Tuition isnt bad, $18,000 for the program which lasts one year, all year round. Lastly, and one of the biggest things that is great about the school is that they make an internship mandatory for graduation. Similiar schools offered you internships, but it turned out to be basically just the school showing you a list of studios hiring interns. You could try to get in, but there was no guarantee you would get hired.... This school in arizona will contact studios for you, use their credentials to get you in, and your choices are very flexible. Since i want to do game audio, there's a very likely chance ill be able to get an internship at sony. WOO WOO! At the very least, some other game studio. All and all, its great, as getting that experience, and having those connections, and they foot in the door is much needed in todays world in any field.

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So yea, i'm really looking forward to this. I finally feel I'll get the skills needed to work in the career i always dreamed about, and not only will this school teach me all I need to know about equipment, software, music business, and everything else, I also have the benefit of already having a strong knowledge of music composition and theory, (something the school doesnt offer, it's only the recording, production, engineering aspects), essentially allows me to pitch myself to employers as a guy that can do it all from start to finish! Now there's no need to hire a composer or copyist, as i can do all of that! But yea, composing jobs are far and few between, and im mainly looking for the recording and production jobs, but my composing skills are a huge benefit to it.

So yea, I"m feeling really good, and really happy with my decision. I will admit i am a bit nervous to move away, as even though i hated my schooling and life for the last 3 years, i can't say it's been hard. I had a really easy life. Living at home with my parents, driving a paid off car, mininum bills... But I'm saving up money since last january, and I'm ready to do this, and I'm ready to give it my all.

I await my phone interview on tuesday. I should be gauranteed in, as i was told they were very impressed with my resume, and my admissions rep really likes me and thinks i will definately get in, even though its very competitive to get in. There total class size is 36 broken into 3 sections of 12, and they enroll 36 every month for the year sessions (basically a new session begins every month, people can graduate jan, feb, march, etc. any month) So enrollment is tight, but i feel very good, and very confident ill get in. But ill update you then and let you know how it goes!

Thanks for reading!