Since the age of twelve I've been struggling to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. For years, I oscillated between astronaut and doctor. Later, it'd be jazz musician, political consultant, writer, and art director. Eventually, I simply figured out that I didn't have to be or do just one thing. Damn! Why didn't anyone tell me?

It became clear that I'd grow up to become many different things when I was in the second grade. My teacher, Mrs. Burch, assigned each of us our first book reports. I wrote mine about Michelangelo. I was fascinated with the myriad of interests the Renaissance Masters dabbled in. You'd have one guy, and he'd be an expert in architecture, painting, sculpture, botany, engineering, and chemistry, all before they had the Internet! They studied or taught themselves everything they wanted to know and went on to create amazing contributions to culture and the humanities by capitalizing on their unique skill sets. Cool, right?

I was obsessed. My 12 year old mind was spinning at a million RPM's. I fantasized about growing up to become an astronaut architect, so that I could design the first moon base. I read so many books on Michelangelo for this report that months later, I corrected a museum docent who had come to my class to speak because she'd failed to mention that Michelangelo was an expert in engineering. My enthusiasm became obnoxious.

Men like Michelangelo and Da Vinci were fascinating to me because they didn't have to specialize in one single field. Their brilliance came from the synergistic results of bringing multiple areas of study together. My discovery, at twelve years old, set in motion an entire chain of events that led me to study political science, history, and music in college and later work in film, television, politics, advertising, publishing, and new media.

Today, I help run Cheri Media, a small media company based out of Los Angeles, CA. We're a passionate group of people dedicated to making the music journalism world better through superior thought leadership and innovative interactive experiences. Over 2 million readers turn to our publications each month to read the latest music news, digest our expert album reviews, and listen to and watch musical performances by their favorite artists. Our publications feature breaking stories, bold interviews, and insightful commentary, all delivered with an unmatched dedication to the music culture.