Long Island's Jesse Findling talks about his life after 'American Idol'

Jesse Findling returned home to Massapequa Park Thursday after reaching the top 12 on this season of the ABC singing competition "American Idol" before being eliminated on Monday’s live show.

"A lot of fun things are going to happen in the next few months," the 20-year-old predicted over the phone Friday morning. "The goal is to start making my own music and trying to make this whole singing thing work, because that's what I love. We're just going to see what happens in the next few months and I'm going to work really hard."

Currently on a spring-semester break from upstate Binghamton University, where the 2023 Massapequa High School graduate is a junior majoring in biology, he assures that, "I'm not going to just be home doing nothing ... I'm going to keep myself busy." Whether that means singing lessons, as many professional singers continue to take, or something else remains uncertain. "It's been so soon since the show ended," he notes.

In the interim between Monday and flying back home to his parents  and his two siblings, the young singer explored Los Angeles.

"I felt like staying for a little bit and doing some fun things around L.A. that I hadn't done because I had been so busy" since arriving on March 22, he says. "So I went to The Grove," the popular entertainment and upscale shopping complex adjacent to the historic Original Farmers Market, "and the Santa Monica Pier — it was a lot of fun." He remained at the same hotel at which the show’s producers boarded him and the other contestants, but on his own dime after elimination.

Part of the time, he says, he hung out with the two singers eliminated just before him: Julián Kalel, 19, of El Paso, Texas, and Jake Thistle, 21, from Paramus, New Jersey.

Not unexpectedly, Findling has been approached by potential managers and agents. While he wisely is taking time to weigh all options, "My dad's saying to really start working now and take advantage of everything that's going to happen after the show. ... So, yeah, a manager would be nice, but doing it by myself helps me grow and makes me more organized. So there's good sides to having a manager and to not having a manager."

Most importantly, he says, the experience solidified for him that he wants singing as his career profession.

"It's hitting me now how far I made it and how much hard work it was," he reflects. "I've learned so much, I've grown so much, and I finally feel like singing is something I can do. ... it's something that I know is real. I was at school just posting videos online and was, like, ‘I want to sing, but I don't really know where to start.’ So this show gave me a start, and now I'm excited that I'm done because I can see what's next."