On June 9th, one of my closest friends, Precious Vasquez, will get on a plane and take off for New York. She'll start a new life over there, attending school and making new friends. But before she leaves, she's made it a priority that the days leading to her departure aren't spent moping.
She's constructed a list of goals to accomplish before she leaves, but the goals aren't for her, they're for me. The list is relatively long but the most important goals include releasing an album of my music, finding a boyfriend and maintaining a solid relationship.
I laughed this list off at first; it seemed a little outlandish. But after hearing Precious out, I came to the conclusion that I actually need it. Every goal Precious gave me is one that I've always wanted to do and always had the ability to do for myself. I just never made it a priority.
Recording and releasing my own album has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. However, I put it to the bottom of my own to-do list because I feared not living up to standards set by my "brother" and my mentor. They're amazing artists, and when I see the praise they get for their music, I can't help but feel discouraged; thinking that my own work will never live up to that. But now that Precious is encouraging me, I know that at least one person is looking forward to my album and I'm more willing to get it done.
As far as the boyfriend thing goes, I've had them before, but my relationships often end soon after they start. Precious told me that she's tired of seeing me unhappy with guys I've settled for instead of in a fulfilling relationship with the ones I really want.