Follow Your Talent, Not Your Passion, and Live by Its Unbearable Weight

Inspired by the most talented individuals I have never met.

Image by Zul Andra

I walked past two teenagers dancing as though their lives depended on it. This is right after I had coffee with one of the foremost violinists in the country. Her 35-year journey—since she was handed a violin at the age of five—is stuff that legends are made of. The photo I took of these two dancers might be the start of theirs.

The silence was deafening. Their dance moves were disparate. In this sprawling underground pathway connecting an arts and business district, the only audible thing was the whirring machinery of a tired escalator. Amidst the glistening lights bouncing off the reflective walls and floor like stars made for the stage, I didn’t notice if they had headphones on or were dancing around the air of their own quietus.

My time with the violinist felt like stepping into a reading of a prologue of her memoir at a book club. Every sip of coffee takes me to the next page of her illustrious career. Between the million-dollar violins bestowed upon her, the mast…