Another Trip Around the Sun, Still Searching for My Song

This birthday hit me harder than any other. It hit me mentally, in a way I wasn’t expecting. It made me realize that the years are speeding by, and I only have so much time left on this beautiful planet. Birthdays used to be about celebration, cake, laughter, maybe a wild night or two, but now they feel more like a quiet reckoning. Another trip around the sun, another reminder that time doesn’t wait, and life is fleeting.

The past five years have mostly been a blur of factory work, long hours, exhaustion, sleep, repeat. It’s easy to lose yourself in the grind, to let days slip into weeks, weeks into months, months into years. Before that, I worked other jobs, raised my kids, learned life the hard way, and carved out who I am. But the last few years? They’ve been a reminder that life can pass by faster than you realize if you’re not paying attention.

This year wasn’t filled with a ton of traveling to concerts. Yes, I went to quite a few, but not as many as I would have loved to. Still, I got to check off some bucket list bands, and I got to go support my music family, the ones who are out there living their dreams on stage. And I’ve got my birthday concert coming up on November 19th, when I’ll finally get to see the Alex Skolnick Trio, and my favorite guitarist in person again but with his jazz band.

But what really stood out this year was getting to see some old friends. Those moments reminded me of who I am and how much I’ve missed that version of myself. The part of me that lived for the energy, the connection, and the feeling of being alive in the music. I realized I’ve lost pieces of that person over the years, but I also realized something more important, I can find my way back. I will be that person again.

I miss my old friends daily. The ones I got to see again this year, who live around the Detroit area, being with them reminded me how much I’ve missed that bond, that feeling of belonging. And then there are the others, the ones who are dear to my heart but live far away in other states. Distance never changes what they mean to me, it just makes the ache a little deeper.

When I say I’m on a different level than most of my friends, it’s not about being better, it’s about how deeply music controls my life. My local friends like music, sure, but not in the way that I feel it, not in the way I can explain it, where every lyric, every guitar riff, every live show feels like oxygen.

I don’t have much of a social life anymore, and I’m not talking about bars or parties, that world doesn’t speak to me. I’m at a different level now, one that most of my friends don’t fully understand. Maybe it’s perspective, maybe it’s age. When you get older, life looks different. You see through people and moments. You realize what matters, and what doesn’t.

Getting older doesn’t just affect your body, it changes your mind. It makes you count not the years you’ve lived, but the moments you’ve truly felt alive. Life is short. We’re only given so much of it. I don’t want to die with regrets, with the thoughts of I wish I would have… lingering in my mind.

Music has always been my lifeline. It’s my therapy, my escape, my heartbeat. I sit alone and do nothing but listen to it. I clean to music. I work with it blasting in my pods. I drive with the radio loud. I shower with music blaring. Concerts have always been my spring, summer, and fall because winter here is brutal, and the seasonal depression hits hard. But music carries me through, even when the world outside feels cold and heavy.

Life is about choices. Life is what we make it. We can choose to be happy, or we can choose misery. I’ve decided I’m done choosing misery. Getting back into throwing concerts would make me happy. Finally getting my podcast up and running would make me happy. Working with bands again that’s my passion. That’s what I love.

But I want more. I want to travel. I want to see the places I’ve dreamed of for years. I want to finally make it to California, to release my mom’s ashes as she wanted, to see where I was born as an adult, to visit the Whisky a Go Go, a place steeped in music history. I want to feel the thrill of discovering new cities, new music scenes, and to be part of creating that energy again.

I’m tired of seeing people I once loved pass away, some without ever experiencing what they truly wanted. I don’t want that to be me. I want to live fully, without holding back. I want to chase the things that fill me with purpose — music, creation, connection, adventure.

This birthday is different. It’s not just another year, it’s a wake-up call. Time is limited. Life is fleeting. The story isn’t over. I still have time, and I’m choosing to fill it with what matters most: music. Creation. Passion. Travel. Adventure. Happiness. Spending it with friends and family. No regrets.

Here’s to another year older, not defeated, but awakened, ready to make this chapter count.

Because in the end, it’s not about how many years I’ve lived, it’s about how deeply I’ve felt them.

Music has been my heartbeat through every high and low, my connection to the people I love, and the map that still leads me toward the life I want. And as long as the music plays, so will I..... chasing dreams, finding meaning, and living fully, one note at a time.

Peace, Love and Loud Music,

Mickey 🤘🖤🎵