How My Dad Found His Own Voice

Sam Blumenfeld is an eighth-grader at MS 51 and was selected as a winner.

In New Orleans, Larry Blumenfeld was interviewing jazz musicians about their music before Hurricane Katrina, after, and how it may have changed. He suddenly thought back to the days that he did marketing for musicians. But then he snapped back into the moment and realized how much his decision to be a writer has impacted his life positively. He realized he loves the work that he does. In the middle of a crisis, he was able to tell these musicians’ stories in his own words and help people understand what was really going on.

Before the change, Larry Blumenfeld did marketing and publicity for arts organizations. He ended up working at a major record label with famous musicians. He loved the music and the musicians, but he didn’t love his job. He realized that he wanted a closer and purer connection with the musicians. He really didn’t want to be involved in their business. He wanted to share their ideas. So he thought that he would change his job to have more freedom, rather than just doing whatever his manager told him to. He wanted more freedom to write, and to get to know the musicians better. He started writing and eventually thought that he would do this for a living, because it was something that he actually liked and wanted to do.

Larry started freelance writing. He still had the job of marketing, but he was transitioning away from that. Before long, he moved to journalism. He had many friends that were journalists that helped him with the transition and, soon enough, he became a very successful journalist about jazz and art and jazz culture. He found that this was a better way to connect with the arts, and a way to express himself, too. At first, he was a little scared about failing, and he wasn't quite sure how to do what he wanted to do, but pretty quickly, he realized that he liked this a lot and it felt natural to him. There were some older writers that he knew that helped him feel confident with his decision. They gave him advice. One of them had become an editor of a magazine, and he hired Larry for an assignment.

On the one hand, this decision led him down a path in which for decades, he’s gotten to know and to interview brilliant people and to do work that he thinks really matters. On the other hand, he’s made less money than he probably would have made if he had stayed in marketing. In his previous jobs, even though he was paid to have good ideas and to be creative, he mostly did the work that my employers told him to do. As a journalist, you sort of have to invent your own job with each new assignment, and it’s never the same from story to story. This job has taken him many places, including Cuba and New Orleans. He found his voice as a writer and people began to appreciate his work. He’s proud of the work that he’s done, and the course of his career since this decision has enriched his life and has made him a smarter and better person.

One lesson from his story is that it’s good to find a job that allows you to follow your passions. Larry made a change that largely impacted his life, and he thought it was for the better. He loved what he did after that because he met new and interesting people that made his life less bland and more filled with color. Also, it’s good to change because, often, it brings the most out in people and usually ends up with positive outcomes. If you decide to make a major change in your life, then it will probably benefit you because of the opportunities that will greet you, as well as the people you will meet.