CREATING IS THE ULTIMATE ARTISTIC PROCESS Sarah Chong ‘11 | Scholar For as long as I can remember, the art of creating and storytelling has been magical to me. Getting to do so through music has been a privilege for many years. SJI International first provided precious freedom to explore as many artistic and musical activities as I yearned to – for the simple joys of collaborating, creating and having fun – and to integrate them with the rest of my education. This has been an accurate, transformative reflection of how music shows up in my every day. It has since been my aim to continue creating those experiences (curious exploration, pure motives and balanced art-life intertwinement). They have seen me through intense training at Berklee, and into my current working life. The post-SJII years have sent many surprising and humbling life lessons my way, and refined core purposes that I try to live by. At the heart of it all: connecting, empowering and serving others are the true creations I aspire to make. Many in our SJII community surely share these values; their origins can clearly be traced back to our Lasallian educational and social experiences. Big-sounding concepts indeed – but they are the root motivations that propel me out of bed each morning to try and conjure magic in little ways, especially on lazier or tougher days! Having followed my passion in choosing a music career, I’ve been very fortunate in it working out thus far. “Every path has tough moments – might as well choose one that you truly love, right?” True indeed, but not necessarily a ‘one size fits all’ saying. Following one’s passions as the only compass, can be excluding and limiting to those who have yet to figure out theirs, those going through a change of passions, those having multiple interests to choose from, or even those who do not yet have the luxury of 26
following their heart. If you have felt this way before, you are not alone. Furthermore, feeling pressure to have ‘one ultimate calling’, can risk us: ruling out options with solid potential far too early, “losing our sense of identity” should any surprising career shifts happen, or foster impossible expectations to feel fulfilled 24/7 in one’s career … which will most probably be a let-down or obstacle during inevitably tougher moments. I’ve often thought about alternative avenues to explore, should the gift of making music ever be lost to me one day. Life and people have thankfully taught me other important considerations since, such as the liberating thought that doing anything with consistent care, effort and grit, over time, is key to nurturing passion and fulfillment. It leads me to wonder: is passion a prerequisite to doing something well, or is it also a result / by-product of learning and doing something well? Is it both? If we can indeed create passion for most things by doing them well consistently over time, perhaps it would be enlightening to lower the bar: explore more paths that generally spark our interest, learn them well, and then actively reflect on our experiences to help make key decisions. If I could chat with younger Sarah about making career decisions, I would also encourage her to assess skill sets together with passions. Younger Sarah chased her dream
