Rising rock star Amelia Murray was at a fork in the road.
Should she continue playing with an indie rock band the world was starting to fall in love with? Or should she throw it away in the hope of becoming a doctor?
For the first time, Murray publicly reveals why she left chart-toppers Spacey Jane.
And while she says it was a tough decision, a piece of advice about picking the right path made it easier.
A school of just 10
Murray never dreamt of becoming a rockstar. Nor a doctor for that matter.
"The first thing I wanted to be when I grew up was a shearer when I was three," she says.
After all, coming from the West Australian Wheatbelt town of Tincurrin, about 260 kilometres south-east of Perth, farming was second nature.
It's the kind of town where you walk down the street and greet everyone by name.
"I definitely consider myself a country girl ... love working harvest," the 25-year-old says.
Like many small towns, education opportunities are limited, but Murray's school was more isolated than most.
"I went to the smallest school in the state for a while there ... it had 10 kids in it."
They were basically all in one class so she ended up being academically challenged.
Murray moved to Perth to further her education in her teenage years.
When she left high school she applied for medicine because she didn't know what else to choose.
It was when she was studying at university that Spacey Jane was born in 2016.
Just a hobby
Murray says when she started playing in a band it didn't feel like a "serious thing".
"It was just like a fun hobby that we all had."
While Murray was from the Wheatbelt, the band's lead singer and drummer hailed from another regional hub, Geraldton, and they all had similar interests.
She played the bass guitar — something she says is often underrated.
"Most people don't notice the bass line but if a song didn't have a cool bass line you'd probably be less interested in it," she says.
She loved going to shows with her mates as a punter and was ecstatic when the crew soon started playing live.
They even held a few backyard shows in the state's music capital of Fremantle.
Anyone who went to university around that era in Perth would likely have a story about the first time they saw Spacey Jane.
And it didn't take long for the rest of the country to take notice.
Meteoric rise of Spacey Jane
Murray says the band started figuring out its identity by the time the second EP was released in 2018.
"I feel like our first EP we had no idea what we were doing," she says.
While she can't pick a favourite song, she's most proud of Booster Seat which was No. 2 in Triple J's Hottest 100 countdown in 2020.
"I really like that song because all five of us are on it, so Peppa [Lane] who's the bass player now sings the vocals and I play the bass so it's one of the few songs that have all five of us on it."
The band went on to debut at No. 1 on the ARIA charts with their album Here Comes Everybody.
That was in addition to making history, equalling Wolfmother as the artist with the most number of songs in a Hottest 100 countdown.
The band had six songs in this year's list, including three in the top 10.
Life on tour was tough
Murray says when the band started touring it was "exciting" initially.
"It was starting to take off as a career and I think that's also at the point where I'd been doing medicine for a few years and had realised I actually really loved that as well."
But touring took a toll on her.
"While I loved the feeling of writing music and recording with friends, it's like the coolest thing ever, I think other aspects of being a musician didn't really suit me as well."
The late nights that came with touring became a challenge, especially for someone who didn't feel like the party scene was for her.
"I don't drink and the party scene is not really where I feel most comfortable," she says.
"So I guess there are some behind-the-scenes stuff about being a musician that people don't really know is quite hard."
Murray says it was then that she knew she had to pursue medicine over music.
And on July 2, 2019, the band announced via social media Murray's news.
Working as an ED doctor
After a few more years of study, Murray graduated as a doctor.
She recently joined the Albany Health Campus as a junior doctor.
It's returning to a familiar part of WA after spending family holidays as a child on the southern coast.
As for the job itself, she says it keeps her on her toes.
"I really like working the ED because it is so varied," she says.
"You know, you can be seeing someone with a broken bone, you can be seeing someone with some sort of organ problem with an infection or looking after a trauma like a car crash."
Murray says there's a good culture of learning and she feels supported by the senior doctors.
Happy for them
Murray hopes to work in sexual health in the future, something she is extremely passionate about.
She was part of the Dr Yes program which taught consent in schools and is glad the once-taboo topic is being discussed more openly.
She has only well wishes for her former band mates and doesn't get FOMO from not being on stage.
"It was hard initially and sad but there's never been any resentment," she says.
"I'm just really happy that they're doing what they want to do and they're really successful. I'm just happy for them."
Although it's not the world stage, Murray still loves rocking with her bass in her lounge room and has a bit of advice for others facing a fork in the road.
"One thing my Mum taught me to do was to pick one idea and run with it for a little bit in your head and see how that feels," she says.
"If it feels right you keep going and if it feels wrong you pick the other option."
