28 Days to Diva: The 28 Days Recap 2.0 (#28daystodiva)

"You are the books you read, the films you watch,
the music you listen to, the people you meet, the dreams you have,
the conversations you engage in. You are what you take from these.
You are the sound of the ocean, the breath of fresh air,
the brightest light and the darkest corner.
You are a collective of every experience you have had
in your life.
You are every single day.
So drown yourself in a sea of knowledge and existence.
Let the words run through your veins
and let the colors fill your mind." - anonymous

I have a recurring wish to see other creative’s lives in montage. It would not just be the stereotypical important moments when they win the competition or get the extremely important phone call. The montage would include the seemingly insignificant moments too — laughing until they cry around a dinner table with friends, curling up with the book that made an everlasting impression on them, or that moment they were out for a run and saw the sky in that particular shade. A necessary moment of the montage, in my imagination, is the moment our protagonist feels most defeated, considers giving it up, but ultimately reclaims their passion and finds their path. I have this recurring wish because I know that everyone does it but I don’t get to hear everyone’s stories. You are a collective of every experience you have had in your life. Being a diva is therefore about collecting as many diva-making experiences as possible in your lifetime. That is precisely why 28 Days to Diva exists.

This 28 Days to Diva is not a collection of saccharine “You Can Do It” slogans. After all, dreams don’t work unless you do. Now in our third year, we have already discussed many of the basics like fixing your résumé, writing a bio, auditioning like a boss, and creating your own singing team. We even thought about bigger tasks last year like planning a recital, being an interpretive scholar, budgeting for your YAP experience, and when ‘what if’… comes true. All that means that this year is an even bigger challenge. Now, we have to discuss what is really stopping you from achieving the fullest expression of your diva life. 28 Days to Diva is designed as a month-long series of challenges or tasks that will help you (and me) brighten your classical musician outlook. As always, “I can’t guarantee that participating will have you dying of consumption on the Met stage by March, but I can guarantee you’ll be more committed and better prepared to handle your career, whether that’s more gigs or just a little more motivation to keep going.”

A singing career is more than just having a wonderful voice and slogging away hours in the practice room. However, there is no substitute for having “the goods.” You must start there. These tasks and challenges do not a career make on their own. You must nurture your talent and skills as much as possible. So, you may have been really good at school but how do you make the same kinds of achievement in the real world without driving yourself broke and insane? Well, honey, if the size of your pond grew – it’s time to become a bigger fish.