When we are young, we often imagine life unfolding in a straight line. We set a goal, work hard, and believe that, if we put in enough effort, things will go according to plan.
Life, however, has a habit of rewriting the script.
My first experience of this came as a child in Milan.
I dreamed of attending the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory.
I studied relentlessly, spending countless hours at the piano, while my friends were outside playing.
My parents invested in private lessons, in addition to the ones provided by the school, and I desperately wanted to make them proud.
When the entrance exam results arrived, I missed out on a place by a single point. I was devastated! As a child, I didn't see it as a competitive process. I saw it as proof that I wasn't good enough.
For years, I carried that disappointment with me. Only recently did my mum tell me that the child who secured the place was the son of the director of the conservatory's orchestra. Whether that influenced the outcome or not, hearing it changed something inside me. I realised how many years I had wasted beating myself up over a story I had created around one moment.
Do you have a moment like that too?
Something that happened years ago that quietly convinced you that you weren't talented enough, brave enough, clever enough, or worthy enough. Those stories can stay with us for a very long time.
Although my dream of becoming a concert pianist faded, music never left me. I continued studying classical piano and spent much of my youth practising for hours every day. My piano became my closest companion. It was where I processed emotions, frustrations, hopes, and dreams.
My dog Peggy would curl up by the piano and listen blissfully while I played. Not everyone was quite as enthusiastic. One neighbour loved listening from across the courtyard, while another insisted I stop practising every evening at 7:30.
At the time, even that felt like another obstacle standing between me and my dream, but life was quietly teaching me something important.
A closed door does not always mean the end of the journey. Sometimes it simply changes the route.
After high school, I gradually moved away from classical performance, and discovered that I loved creating my own piano instrumentals and melodic ideas. Then life changed again.
I moved to the UK, studied music production and joined bands. I became convinced that producing records was my future. Yet when I graduated, I struggled to find opportunities in the industry.
Another dream seemed to slip through my fingers, so I adapted. I focused on songwriting for other people and, when people told me my songs needed to be taken on the road, I took singing lessons.
When city living and noise restrictions made it impossible to continue practising the way I needed to, I packed my bags and moved to rural Cornwall. I stepped onto stages despite never feeling entirely comfortable in the spotlight as a solo artist.
Though my musical journey didn’t resemble the path I imagined as a child, each time one version of my future disappeared, another one emerged.
The truth is that reinvention isn't about abandoning who you are. It's about carrying the essence of yourself into a new chapter. The instrument may change. The role may change. The dream may evolve, but the heart of it remains the same.
Mine has always been music.
One way or another, I have spent my life trying to bring music into the world in whatever way I could.
There have been moments when I've questioned myself, when I've wondered whether all the effort, sacrifices, and setbacks were worth it. Then I receive a message from someone who tells me that a song helped them through a difficult day, or someone shares how a piece of music made them feel understood, and I remember why I started.
So if life is asking you to pivot right now, perhaps that isn't failure. It's reinvention.
If you are following your heart, staying true to your values, and doing the best you can with what you have, then you are not doing life wrong. You are simply becoming the next version of yourself.
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Podcast
The Consu Narrative is inspired by and expands upon the themes explored in Consu's blog. Although not narrated by her, the conversations are rooted in her stories, reflections, and creative vision. Through warm and thought-provoking discussions, two hosts explore the stories behind the music and the life experiences that make us human, delving into meaning, purpose, challenges, and the ongoing journey of self-discovery.