Do band directors suffer from Stockholm syndrome? Although that may sound kinda funny or confusing, stay with me for a second. When I was a younger director I basically lived in the band hall. I would work 12 hours a day and on the weekends. I would go up there by myself and just work on things. Looking back it wasn't really necessary, I just kept myself busy and felt compelled to work. All my friends at the time were band directors. At least I thought they were friends. The reality is they were just colleagues. My work and social life were intertwined. I talked band 100% of the time.

I somehow got lucky and married someone out of the profession (we met on a dating app). IT OPENED MY EYES! All of a sudden I had something else to do. I actually enjoyed being outside of the band hall. It was a revelation! Furthermore, I started making new friends who WEREN'T band directors. The conversations were interesting, and I learned so much about the outside world.

What I found even more interesting about my new friends was that they also had diverse groups of friends. They didn't completely surround themselves with just work colleagues. I always assumed that people just socialized within their work circles but it wasn't the case at all.

I think we sometimes need to shake things up. Gain new perspectives and realize the job is just that, a job. By the way, we rarely talk about work in my new social group. It's refreshing to be able to disconnect from work, I think many more people in the education world should try it.