Meet the author
Welcome!
My name is Anneliese Steele Taylor, and I am an opera singer studying in New York City under Conrad Osborne. I created this research because I craved it desperately—and so, I created a platform to share it with others just like myself.
There are two parts to my story. Firstly, my life-long struggle with discipline and motivation. And secondly, my pursuit of music. One does not exist without the other.
The music
I have been singing since I was a child, although I certainly did not intend to pursue it as a career. It intimidated me, and years of adolescent criticism doubted the likelihood that I had a shot at honing my innate gifts.
But in the last years of high school, after a year of foregoing music entirely, I realized that I could not live without it. And, hand-in-hand by the mentors who never gave up on me, I chose to fight.
But the traditional system couldn’t save me. So I knew I needed to create my own college, and that I did.
It’s an unusual path, and a unique story, but know that I plan to tell it. There will soon be video essays and blog posts to go along with my social media content!
why the self-education database?
This is what I needed my entire childhood, let alone when I decided to forego college. I felt less-than my entire childhood for not being able to force myself to do the things I felt like I should, when that wasn’t the point at all. Since then, I have dealt first-hand with who I am at my core, because self study forces you to rely entirely on your own systems. You rely entirely on your goals, your purpose, and what you hold dear to you.
The pieces inside of you that refuse to change, that cling to comfort and familiarity, will sliver out of their darkness and try to wrangle you back to a place of complacency. That’s why I am glad I didn’t go to college, although I didn’t know it at the time. It would have been a feigned security. My schedule would be made for me. My classes would be designed for me. My vocal progress would have been entirely out of my hands. Now, if anything slips through the cracks, it is my responsibility to find out why.
All I can tell you is that every single gift given to you from birth has a purpose. None of it is meaningless. There is a reason why I sing, why someone else paints, why someone else serves, writes... And you don’t have to be a creative for this to be true. It can help you if you are a student of medicine, a student of law, or even a student of history. These are truths of humanity that you will have to unpack in due time. That is what self study is all about–whether you are fifteen, or seventy five. Self study will make you face every single detail of your life and your character. From the way you get up in the morning, to the way you brush your teeth or make your breakfast, or where you choose to work. You can choose to look these things head on and decide exactly who you want to be, or not.
To close, a little message to you, and to Anna who once upon a time so desperately needed to hear it: It will be okay when you make it okay.