Actor or guitar player?

The question was, would you rather be an Oscar-winning actor or a great guitarist? Without hesitating, I answered, guitarist. I should have pulled out the three guitar picks I have in my pocket just to emphasize my point.

I love acting, but for me acting is stressful and anxiety-ridden, although ironically, I feel more comfortable on stage than I do in most social situations. And I love what it teaches me about myself and the world.

But the feeling I get when I play guitar, when I'm making, for what for me passes as music, can be so uplifting, calming, invigorating, cleansing, whatever emotion I seem to need at the time, like your body craves potato chips after you run for the salt, is why I say I'd rather play guitar than act.

What's even more odd is I know I'm a much better actor than I am guitar player. I've only been playing guitar for coming on two years, but I've been acting steadily for the past 13 years or so. And I acted years before that.

Maybe it's the newness of music. But there is such a feeling you get when you hold an acoustic guitar against your body and play it. You physically feel the music. Or the strength and control that comes from an electric. You pick a string and the powerful sound that emanates is the same feeling you get from pulling a trigger. (Maybe Hillary Clinton should play electric guitar. Then she won't sound like such a doof talking about shooting one duck in Arkansas.)