Social Lives vs. Cultivating Your Talents

Don't get me wrong, I know how important it is to have a great social life when you're a teenager.  I was once one myself :)  I ended up taking a different route.  This could be because I grew up in the stone ages before there was even internet let alone myspace and facebook.  I still remember though many of my schoolmates still being caught up in being popular and having a large social circle of friends.  What happened to me?  Here's the story.  I decided that instead of spending every night 'hanging out' with people, I would instead spend my valuable time getting good at something that I loved.  In my case it was guitar.  I would spend 8 to 10 hours a night playing anything and everything I could.  My fingers would almost bleed by the time I was ready to go to bed.  Did I have many friends?  Not really.  I had about 2 good friends and everyone else just kind of faded into the background in my life.  Did I care?  Not at all.  I had found a friend that was always there, my guitar.  This may sound sad to you but keep reading.  As I grew older I ended up joining a band, getting signed, and playing hundreds and hundreds of shows.  I met countless people and experienced amazing situations.  I got to play at the Target Center in front of a sell out crowd and I even opened for some bands whom I grew up idolizing.  Later I opened my own music school and I now produce music for myself and other artists.  Do I sound like a guy who has a lack of friends?  Not at all.  Why?  Because I cultivated my talents.  What happened to all the popular people in school?  They soon realized that when college came around that many of their friends whom they had identified with were moving away.  Many of them were left with very few people to hang out with.  They soon learned that friends come and go and that in order to retain that feeling of worth, they had to replace lost friends right away.  However, when you cultivate your talents and get really good at something, people always come to you.  You always feel complete because you will always be with 'you'.  Having said that, I'm now 32 years old and feel completely blessed for the path I chose.  I am now going to go play guitar all night until my fingers bleed. :)-MG