Brit has been participating in the Durango Songwriters Expo this weekend, starting Thursday.  This is where Meghan Trainor was discovered.  It started out fun, attending sessions and networking with music and TV industry executives.  Last night was brutal though.  She received some ugly criticism, along with her band, after performing for reviews.  Without repeating what Brit related, the critics made Simon Cowell seem like Mother Theresa, all in front of a room full of local peers.  Tough industry.

Tried to cheer her up.  You have to take criticism for what it’s worth.  Provided in a constructive fashion, it can be a useful tool.  Instead though, it tends to be negative, almost by nature.  And it can stop you in your tracks.  I can certainly relate.  I just blogged last week about the criticism I’m receiving now as part of a writer’s critique group.  I didn’t go into detail but can tell you it’s been 99% everything I’m doing wrong.  Some of it’s been good, better word choices and more concise wording.  I don’t agree with over half it though.  Maybe I shouldn’t be so confident, being a first time writer, but it’s my story and some things I just want to do my way, no matter what my critics say.

Case in point, nearly everyone points out I’m misspelling WiFi by writing it lowercase as wifi.  Like I don’t fucking know that.  I have a master of science in telecommunications.  I wrote my thesis on frequency hopping spread spectrum before most people knew what the Internet was.  I know WiFi is an acronym but it looks like shit on the printed page in uppercase.  I’m ignoring the advice.  Maybe that’s a stupid newbie mistake but you have to go with your heart on some things.

Being dense sometimes helps to keep from becoming discouraged.  I recall as a kid being caught in a compromising position with my high school sweetheart on her parents’ couch. The next time I visited, her dad sat me down for a chat at the kitchen table.  While he cleaned his gun collection.  His message went right over my head.  I didn’t get the point he was making until years later.  Whether your response is from arrogance or ignorance, moving forward beats quitting out of fear.

Brit got home after performing last night at 4am.  She woke up a few hours later and told us about her nightmare experience.  After balling her eyes out over breakfast, she said, “Well, I’m going to put on my big girl pants and drive back into Boulder to be with my band, and perform some more.”  The girl is going to sing another day.  Brit just needs to keep doing what she loves, like this YouTube mashup she arranged and filmed singing with her little sister over the summer.  Click on that link and tell me she doesn’t have a future.