by Aksinya Kichigina
Reporting Correspondent
akichigi@jccc.edu
Does the future matter for students? A majority of them probably would say yes. However, some of them still have to make a choice between a bright, successful future, following a career path or proceeding to do what he or she likes as their passion for the rest of their lives.
That’s how student Christian Romero, who is majoring in business administration, decides what is really important for him right now and his aspirations for the future. Romero has a tough decision: become a financial analyst or become a popular disc jockey.
Romero puts all his efforts toward completing his bachelor’s degree in business and finance, but at the same time, he finds some time for his passion, which is playing, mixing and recording music.
“My major is business administration with an emphasis in finance. I chose this major because it fits my personality. And also I like communicating with people and being surrounded with a lot of people,” said Romero.
However, despite his desire to focus solely on this career path, Romero found a hobby that relates to a completely different field — music.
“I chose to DJ because I like the music that I play, which is electronic dance music and hip-hop. Therefore, I would want to show people my taste of music while [allowing] them to have a good time and enjoy the rhythm of music,” explained Romero.
Romero loves performing his music for his close friends and family members, even though he is still working on refining his skills. Nevertheless, while Romero enjoys what he is doing, he still has a hard time choosing what he would like to do with his future. Although Romero spends almost all of his free time perfecting his music, he still doesn’t forget that his future is mainly related to what he is studying and focusing on right now at school.
“I know right now, it’s difficult to pursue my DJ career just because I have many things going on in my life, which are school, work and my personal life,” said Romero. “But if I was really into pursuing DJ, I would have to make it as my full-time job. So hopefully in the future, I will make it to be like that and see if I can keep this passion as a job.”
For now, Romero mentioned that it is not the perfect time for him to follow a career as a musical artist, even though he has some thoughts about doing it; therefore, he strives to center and think carefully about the pros and cons of his future career path instead.
“I know that playing music will satisfy me mentally, just because it gives me positive emotions and makes me happy because of the music that I play … Working as a financial analyst, I know for a fact that I will be well-off financially than if I work as a DJ,” said Romero.
On the other hand, he doesn’t give up on continuing to work on his DJ skills. While he is thinking of finding a job that relates to his business major in the future, Romero said he hopes he will still be able to be a DJ if everything goes smoothly.
“I would like, later on, to be able to perform my DJ skills, at least on small shows, but right now, it’s not the greatest time. Though in the future, it might be something that I consider to do,” explained Romero. “I will keep playing, even though I have a job, because it will be a great way for me when I want to get distracted and waste my time making myself happy by DJ-ing and making my own playlist.”
Romero spends most of his time doing homework, preparing for tests and working hard as a part-time student. However, because he loves his music, he always finds some free time in his busy schedule to create something new that he and others would love to listen to.
“I have produced a couple of my own songs. But since I don’t know how to play any musical instruments, it’s a bit challenging to actually know what the song’s structure is. My few songs, I believe, have a good base, but still I need to improve and work on them. I’ll keep perfecting my production skills, and hopefully will be able to focus on EDM (Electronic Dance Music) music,” said Romero.
Romero said that his choice for now is to pursue his future career. He has struggled between choosing to pursue his passion or his business major, but Romero says that he needs to think maturely. By going to school, getting a degree and finding a job, he thinks will be better off than having a career as a DJ.
To listen to Romero’s work, visit https://soundcloud.com/flowmix.