Filipino on Humans of New York: Music or medicine?

MANILA, Philippines – “I dropped out of school to pursue my passion for music.”

It’s a universal dilemma for passionate musicians looking to pursue a career in music. And you hear it often from contestants of singing competitions on television like The Voice and American Idol.

On Wednesday, October 29, another Filipino, Paulo Serapio, was featured on the Humans of New York Facebook page with a story rings true for many struggling musicians. He had to choose between medical school and a music career.

Serapio chose medicine.”Before medical school I was really into music. I’d work really hard on some songs, and post them on YouTube, and sometimes they’d get a few thousand views. There was a girl I used to collaborate with. We did a few covers together. But I went to medical school, and she skipped college and focused on music full time,” said Serapio on the Facebook post.

“She’s doing great now. All her songs get hundreds of thousands of views, and she just got back from a tour in Asia, and is talking with some major record labels. The funny thing is, she stopped in New York awhile back, and we met up and recorded a cover together, just for old times sake. We just threw it together really quickly, but because of who she is now, that song got more views than the combined total of everything else I ever worked on. It’s funny how things work out,” he added.

Watch Paulo Serapio and Daniela Andrade’s cover of Falling Slowly by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova below:

And what do netizens think of Paulo’s choice?

“Just love whatever you will do,” said Mohamed Yasser in the comments section of the Facebook post. “Things work out,” Serapio himself admitted.

Some also feel that there’s a love story in there somewhere. “She will entertain people and you will heal them; it’s a perfect match,” said Thomas Kaudo.

Or maybe one can have both? What do you think? – Rappler.com