How a Concert Changed the Course of my Life

Sorry about the bad quality of this picture. I took it with my phone, which – back

in 2008 – wasn’t one that took very good pictures

During my teenage years, I worked for FM4, an Austrian radio station. My job was to go to concerts and report what I saw there,what my impressions were of the artists, the location, and the atmosphere. It was a fun job – it gave me quite a bit of insight into the music and radio entertainment industry, and it also allowed me to travel to cities all over Europe. But what it really did for me was that it sparked my predilection for language, writing and communication. How come? Let me tell you.

One day, when I was about seventeen years old, I went to a concert of a fantastic band. As I stood there watching them perform, an explosion of emotions started to build up inside of me. These guys were absolutely amazing. I could only stand there in awe. Their performance literally took my breath away, and it hit me that I was lacking the words for this experience. How was I going to communicate this to others, so they would at least somehow be able to grasp what it was like? When I got home from the concert, the memories and emotions were still bubbling under my skin. I was itching to put them on paper, but I couldn’t. I was unable to express how I felt. My report of the concert was below par. I knew this, and yet I couldn’t do anything about it. I simply could not put my thoughts and feelings into writing, and this was incredibly frustrating!

About a year later, I started studying business economics at the University of Linz. But the memories of that day at the concert never left me. It took me two semesters to finally realize that my true passion lies in language studies. Then, everything happened very quickly: I packed my bags, moved to Salzburg, and enrolled for English and Spanish at the university here. I’ve been living in Salzburg for three years now, and I am still very happy with the choice I’ve made. I’ve never looked back.

I especially love English. I really do. And I can say in all honesty that I’ve never gotten bored with it. This language is just way too peculiar not to love it. Don’t believe me? Then just take a look at the picture below: 

I have to admit that I enjoyed learning English before, but the concert and the subsequent frustration with not being able to express myself well was what really made me pursue language studies. I wanted to be able to communicate my feelings - and communicate them well. I love the beauty of words and all the little peculiarities of language. And I couldn’t be happier that I chose this path. Now, I’m finally passionate about what I’m doing. And all this happened, because of a single – but pretty damn awesome - concert. I guess that there really is nothing you can do about it, once a dream plants itself in your head. You just have to follow it and see what happens. To quote a band:

There’s a dream that’s never ending

There’s a dream that’s always out of hand

There’s nothing I can do about it

Because the dream is out of my command

~ Shout Out Louds (“There’s nothing”)

And before it gets too corny now, let’s call it quits. I can’t wait to hear YOUR life-changing experiences!