Lauren Bateman reflects on her path toward becoming a professional musician and the mentorship she encountered. She describes searching for programs about ‘how to become a professional musician and make money,’ finding guidance that didn’t match her expectations, having a negative experience, and resolving to become a more supportive, non-prescriptive mentor who helps people pursue what they want.
I started Googling, and I found some programs that were like, how to become a professional musician and make money. And I started going down that path, getting help. So I'm like, I don't know anything about this space, so I should probably look to people who do know stuff about this space and went down that road and found it wasn't quite what I was expecting. Ended being such a bad experience that I was like, how do I become the kind of mentor that is supportive of people and trying not to force people into a corner? I want to help people do what they want, not what I want them to do for me.
