Seen and Not Heard

Between 2012 and 2014 I was on the road quite a lot. I had recently won a fellowship with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and I commuted there from Memphis every other week. In 2013 I won a job with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, so for a time, I was visiting all three of those cities on a weekly basis. Needless to say, I listened to a lot of music, and discovered the magic of Podcasts. 

​One Podcast I listened to regularly was Nerdist, and one episode I'll never forget featured Tom Bergeron (pictured below). If you don't know him by name, he's the Emmy-winning host behind "America's Funniest Home Videos", and "Dancing with the Stars". In the interview, he talked about how he got his start in radio, and during the day, he worked as a mime. Something he remembered was the fact that his daytime audiences saw him, but never heard him, and his evening audiences heard him, but never saw him.

This concept came up, separately, last week in my therapy session. (Let me say, as an aside, that I began going to therapy because of the attention I've seen shown toward mental health in the black community and through black media). As I was exploring my thoughts about having a tighter connection with black communities, the therapist told me that this may have to do with the way my career has been shaped. As an orchestral musician, I was seen and not heard (vocally), and as a radio personality, I'm heard and not seen. 

Not sure what this means, but I wanted to share anyway. My therapist will surely help me unpack this the next time I see her. Maybe my ultimate goal should be being a TV host. Maybe something different. Regardless, I can only hope that my career takes me the places it took Tom Bergeron. Maybe even beyond those places!

​If you've never tried therapy, I highly recommend. You never know what you can learn about yourself!