I've led a fortunate life... my parents have been married since they were 23 and have stayed together.  They ran into some pretty bad financial hardships but those were largely taken care of by the time I was born (i'm the youngest of 3).  By the time I was 7, we moved into a nice big house in a nice big neighborhood.  I was taken care of.  I had my video games, my sports, and my parents made sure that I had the opportunities to explore passions in my life.  The passion largely ended up being music.  I've studied piano and percussion for most of my life and was accepted into top ensembles for drums and percussion into high school, eventually entering Duquesne University on a music scholarship for percussion.  This is where another passion got in the way: being in a band.  I had a band that had been doing rather well and I left school to pursue it.  My parents, as always, supported my decision, though I think they regret that now.  The band continued to do well playing gigs constantly and eventually attracting attention from management and production, where things go to be a business.  It started to feel like a job.  When we were on the verge of breaking through to bigger things, I quit the ban, and two other members quit a week later.  This is a decision I often regret, as I've played in several other bands since and only now do I realize how much I took that group of musicians and friends for granted.  So there I was, no college, no band, back to living with my parents.  I developed a passion for audio engineering and started recording my friends' bands in my parents' basement.  I got a job fixing computers and moved into my own place with a couple friends and then converted our band's practice area into a makeshift studio.  I started recording even more.  Eventually I was noticed by a nearby, more established studio and offered a job, which I took.  I worked there for a while part-time while still working my computer job.  Not long afterwards, I was contacted by the producer for my former band (which I had quit years before) who was opening a new studio of his own, and asked if I wanted in.  I had a good thing going at my current studio but my ambition got the best of me, and I left for this new studio (and new expenses).

Where I am now... 2 years later, I'm still at that studio and regretting it.  I've been unable to keep up with the large monthly bills.  My motivation to be a full-time audio engineer is gone, and consequently so has my amount of work, bringing in even less money.  I have a good job now working as a circuit engineer for a telecommunications company and would be happy staying there, but I am roped into the lease for the studio for one more year.  So here I am, toughing that out, while also planning on marrying my current girlfriend.  I still play in a couple bands very casually, but I can't help but feel like I'm not doing what I want to be doing.