A Surprise That Revived an Old Passion
It’s time to talk about my passion for music—a passion that, I dare say, has recently been rekindled, and I’m genuinely happy about it.
Music and Me
My relationship with music goes way back, all the way to my earliest years. I remember listening to my father, over and over, as he prepared and composed music for a theater production. At just five years old, I dared to play what I’d heard, using both hands on a keyboard—even though I’d never actually touched one before. Naturally, it wasn’t long before he scooped me up and took me to a conservatory.
That’s how I started with classical piano and, of course, all the theory that comes with it. I often joined choral groups as well. I made it to the “intermediate” level, but somewhere around middle school, as part of my teenage rebellion, I started getting bored with studying—even music, so I quit. Around the middle of high school, I decided to pick up classical guitar instead. With the help of a great teacher, I progressed really quickly.
But again, when high school ended, I had to make a decision about my future.
Watching my father struggle to make a living as a musician, I chose something I had studied and loved, Graphic Design! I picked it, at first, purely for practical reasons, and threw myself into it. And so, once again, music was left behind.
Still, even though I stopped learning and playing music, I never stopped listening.
As an early teenager all my pocket money went to records and CDs, and I made mixtapes at every opportunity. It was my thing. I DJed at school parties whenever I could, did a summer season of radio shows on a pirate station with an antenna that reached only five blocks(!), and played music at a venue for the first time (almost for free, of course) at thirteen, with vinyl records and those then-brand-new CDs! I’ve DJed at venues a few more times since then, and honestly, it’s always been a blast.
As I got older, I was lucky enough to meet and work with some radio producers whose passion for music truly inspired me. I created an online radio station for one of them, and later started my own—making the most of the sizable music collection I’d managed to build up, especially with the game-changing arrival of MP3s.
The Surprise
While rummaging through storage, I found my old vinyl records and got excited. They hadn’t been played in over thirty years! Each record tells a story; I remembered most of them, but there were some I had no idea about, and I decided not to look them up or listen to them digitally. I wanted to play the actual vinyl records again!
And that’s exactly what I did—and it was wonderful. There were some real gems in there, and plenty of junk too, but either way,
I locked myself in for a day and truly reconnected with my childhood self.
The New Hobby
Since then, it’s become my new hobby. Whenever I get the chance, I buy records and make sure to find time to really enjoy them. You might wonder, what does “enjoy” mean?
I give it time; I do nothing else. I listen to the music, pay attention to the lyrics if there are any, and look up any information if something excites me—who wrote it, when it was released, why it was written, and so on. For years, music was just a background companion to my work, playing quietly while the real action was elsewhere. Now, it’s the main event—and that’s the difference.
These days, I collect what I consider “important”—what I feel truly deserves a place on vinyl in my collection. My absolute favorites by genre, and if they’re available on vinyl, they definitely go on a long waiting list. Nothing fleeting or experimental makes the cut—only what excites me, what thrills me, what represents me, and maybe even reminds those who know me well of who I am.
Who knows—maybe in another thirty years, my daughter will stumble upon these records in some forgotten storage room. How wonderful would it be if she decided to listen to them! One thing is certain: since I’ve kept only the very best this time, I’m sure she’ll enjoy every moment.