Saturday, May 9, 2009

so this is it...

the final curtain call. my time here is over.
-jesse barrera

well in 4 days. i'm almost outta here. and one thing that has been on my mind for a while is staying here at Berklee. it's so hard to think that i won't be around next fall, or spring, and i'm not sure how long it will take for me to come back, it could be never. but right now, i hope you guys understand that some places are not for everyone. as much as i enjoyed Berklee College of Music, i must bid my goodbye. for now at least. right now, what's important to me is being with my family and focusing solely on my career as an artist. it's almost been 5 years since i've written my first song, and since then i have worked so hard on songwriting, singing, and performing. i'm not saying i deserve anything because everything i have is a blessing and i wouldn't mind if this was as far as i got, but i long to spread my music to as many people possible, and i think right now the ball is rolling for me and it's all about timing. i hope you all support my decision, and know that i have had plenty of fights with my family about my decision. as far as my mom goes, she supports me 100% and i am very blessed to have her support because i know its hard to support someone trying to make a living off of music. while i'm out in California, i'll be taking a few classes at RCC (since i'm already enrolled and was attending a year prior) and just taking it slow for now. hope you guys know that i have thought long and hard about this, and right now i think i need to be in California. believe it or not, jam sessions till 4am happen more on the west coast. i love you guys. and i'll keep you guys posted with everything.

people at Berklee (and the rest of Boston); thank you for your friendship, and teachers too-- all of you are inspiring. i wish you all the best of luck. and for those i shared close friendships with; i will miss getting classrooms with you all and staying until security kicked us out at 1AM. thank you for believing in me, and for the good times. i will never forget them.

but im not gone yet, i got 4 more days. and my family is here with me until monday, but wednesday i go back to the west coast, stay at my house for a day, then fly up to Canada for a show in Winnipeg on the 15th (more info on my myspace), and im back home for good.

ps sorry its been a while, i was waiting for the right time to write about this. take care ya'll


AJ

20 comments:

Karen said...

good luck with your decision. i'm sure you'll do great with whatever you choose to do. :)

JAAANINE said...

I'm supporting you and your decision AJ! And I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that. :D

I believe you're gonna go further AJ. And, even if you don't, your music will; way beyond your imagination.

Continue doing what you do best!

Love from Singapore! :]

Unknown said...

I hope you enjoy your last few days there in Boston, and I'm sure many are glad to see you back here in Cali. No matter what, I support your decision. As long as you're happy, it's all good. I hope Berklee has been a wonderful experience for you, and I know you'll go even further with your music. Look how far you've gone, and what wonderful things you've accomplished, what an amazing blessing. Thank you for the music, & hope to see you soon.
Love, Cheryl

Unknown said...

AJ,
I did not know you were leaving here...!!! I should have given you a warm, long, big hug when I saw you at the station yesterday...!!!
Best luck and I have a great feeling from you that you will make your vision happen; yo, I am very intuitive!
I am regretting now... we should have had more jam sessions together!!! Hopefully someday we can get together and perform again...(let's have Ken on the stage, and make him zombie dance! haha)
Though you are leaving, and you had to go through so hard to make your decision, I am very proud of you! I wish I know what I want to be! (and also good singer!)
Facebook me, please please please....!! and enjoy your summer in california!!

HUG,
Erin
p.s. who's gonna gimme hugs like you from now on........??

Michelle Kuo said...

I agree with everyone who commented! Whatever your decision is, as long as you think it's the right thing to do and it makes you happy, we all support you 100%! And I'm sure you'll make it even further in the music industry, you write amazing songs and are so talented.

Oh by the way, I truly wish I could see your performance at Oxford Academy in Cypress this month! I used to live in Cypress and was going to attend that school but then I had to move to Washington :( Any chance you'll perform in the Seattle area anytime soon?

I Got Nothing said...

I'm in Cali for the summer and its soo good to be home =]. I completely support your decision..

Though i'm a student at BU and Im gonna miss having such a talented fellow Californian so closeby!

But I think you're doing the right thing. John Mayer went to Berklee and he never finishedd & he's doing his thing. Lol

Anonymous said...

Yeah bro, follow your heart and everything will fall into place. Your passion should always be your north star.

-mel

wanny810 said...

hey man.. im from the UK and im just one of those people who just follow your music through youtube.. and yea, you are a Blessing from God.. god sent you here for a purpose and no one know what you do is righ or not... but i pray that whatever his plan is it will be clear to you.. contineu with you're doing, im sure your music had blessed many people because im one of them!....

Ivan

uncle shaq said...

bro .. good luck .. and that is seriously a nice cover .. love it

mika said...

"believe it or not, jam sessions till 4am happen more on the west coast."

haha so true! i hope everything goes well with your decision :) cali is great (except for the traffic). and i love your cover of the climb, it gave me chills.

ChihiroRin said...

To find what you seek in the road of life, the best proverb of all is that which says:
"Leave no stone unturned."
- Edward Bulwer Lytton

It was a hard decision to make, but you must have your own reasons for doing so. There is no definite right or wrong, it's just how we see things. To us, you're un-turning another stone in your life.(:

I believe you'll reach greater heights with your decision. Believe in the decision you made and make it come true! We'll all be watching you and cheering you on in this new chapter of your journey to success(:

Warmest Regards,
Sandy

P.S. I think I emailed your
'booking agent' email regarding some CD thing cause I don't know where else to email to...

♔ AHCINNS ♔ said...

Good luck with all the things you mentioned in here, it's tough to make such a decision. But if you have the passion and drive, anything is possible :)

Anonymous said...

good luck and god bless. take it from someone who knows first hand, family is the most important thing in life. you will go far =) keep it up.

there is only two people i've gotten shivers listening to. and you're one of them.

Unknown said...

good luck with whatever choices you make in the future. even if you aren't at berklee you do great things with your music and life. your work inspires many including myself to work harder at our goals. follow your instinct and heart and never let anyone tell you other wise. gl with everything to come

-Moki T

It's Simply Twinkiie<3 said...

Good Luck Aj! Ima mioss trying to stalk you at those concerts :]
just keedin' but don't worry, wherever you go, you'll always have the fans from Boston =]

Beeeee* said...

so i've been reading your blog posts and i've got something to say about you wanting to become famous and have an impact on people with your music.
the other day i was chillin n talkin to a friend on msn and she asked wat i'm doin n i told her i was listenin to aj rafael on youtube. n she's like YEAH. he is SO BOMB. n we had a full out convo on how amazing you are. i also had ur lyrics of My Soldier as my personal message on msn and 5 of my friends msged me and was like OMG that's AJ RAFAEL <3 .
honestly i didn't know so many people know about u. So many people appreciate your music and your talent. so dude i think u mean so much more to the world than u imagine urself to be. btw u shud hit it up at T Dot some time :)

Good luck with your decision. there is no doubt you are destined to make music no matter which path u choose to take. so cheese. :) <3<3

much love from T.O.

Anonymous said...

Aww AJ Your Leaving Berkeley! I'm not sure if its the best move for you maybe it will be in the long run and for now. I can understand your decision being with your family and that. And i know that you kno wats best 4 you and if your happy thats all the matters. I support you 100% like every1 else. Your amazing AJ. Good luck on your decision. Much love from the UK!! <3

Anonymous said...

Sir, you are truly an inspiration.

I have similar pangs of the heart about going home to Florida. I'm at UCLA for school.

You are the essence of music. Thank you.

Josh - SlyPenguin0 said...

Aw man your coming back to RCC? I just moved out to Las Vegas with some friends to get away from some bad things holding me back...but I was still at RCC, we could have jammed! Good luck with everything

wani zaqwan said...

wow i love your voice!!
follow me ok!!!
^^