A Brief Word of Explanation

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The question I most often get when my musical past comes up is, "How do you get from music to international relations?" It's a fair question.

The answer is that I have very eclectic interests. I have been interested in world affairs and other cultures as long as I can remember. I have also had an interest in music, particularly music technology, since my single-digit years. Besides these, science and technology (which was unavoidable, as I was brought up in a household of once and future physicists), science fiction, aeronautics and astronautics, and politics in general have been constants for me.

I had much initial success in music, and went to school with the idea of scoring music for films and commercials, in addition to playing the less commercially viable forms of music I enjoy. However, I quickly found out that I intensely disliked the business aspects of music--so much so that I decided I wanted no part of it as a profession.

After some soul-searching, I decided my then-hobby, international affairs, was the best candidate for further education. Since I had a general bachelor of arts program, it was not hard to pick up a minor in international relations. To my surprise, I found I enjoyed the classes more and got better grades than in my music classes. I applied to three schools for a Master's degree and was accepted by all of them despite my nontraditional education.

It has definitely been the right decision, and I have been able to come closer to my potential.