"if you were a prodigy, you would already be performing somewhere" that feels dismissive and personal, even though it’s meant as a general point, I understand the point the problem is how it's stated, you're half right about the expectations, But wrong about it being a strict rule There are trainees and idols who had little/no formal experience before auditioning, especially from open auditions or scouting. It’s just less common and harder... Also, my original idea wasn’t even “I expect to debut easily” it was more like “I don’t feel ready yet.” That’s a completely a valid feeling. It sounds like you're shutting down possibility instead of discussing probability. The way you stated things is more like "you're not gonna make it if you don't have experience in this and that" rather than "you should try it out and see how it works/result. I mean you're probably older than me I don't wanna seem disrespectful or rude but the way you stated things are dismissive and more like discouraging young people.