Songwriter in the Making

Ever since I was a child, I've always loved music, the universal language of emotion and desire. I've also have thought of music, just like any other fine art, as a way of expression you can't put into words. No matter what genre you like or dislike, a painting, a composition, or a poem are forms of feeling.

My family has always supported my passion for music. My mom, sister, grandmother, and grandfather have always been there for me every step of the way. My mom would buy me toy keyboards for Christmas and I would play with it for hours on end, she would say. When I was four years old, my grandparents took my sister and I to Concord, Massachusetts in the spring, for a special event about Louisa May Alcott. She was one of the known authors I've heard of at the time. During the tour, we walked into her house and from top to bottom, it was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. There were about seven more families with us, so the house was a little crowded, but we didn't mind walking with the group.

When we walked into her living room, I saw her piano in the corner ahead, and all of the kids rushed toward it. The tour guide mentioned that the piano was her very own and I thought how cool it would be to have my own piano. One of the mothers asked if we were able to play it, and once the tour guide said yes, all of the children raised their hands except for me. One girl who was about ten years old went up to the piano and played a few keys, just to try out the piano. Then I remembered Charlie Brown and company singing "Hark The Herald Angel Sing" from A Charlie Brown Christmas. Once the little girl was done showing what she could do, I decided to raise my hand. The tour guide called on me, so I walked up to the piano and saw all 88 keys and fell instantly in love with pianos. From learning that song by ear, I played it in front of the group, and everybody started singing along. Once I was done with the song, everybody applauded and cheered as I walked back to my grandparents and sister. When we got home later that day, my mom heard the story and decided that I should take piano lessons.

From then on, I've been taking lessons from my teacher, Ben Birkbeck, who I still work with to this day. After a few years of learning how to play, I've decided to make singing a part of my life also. In the fourth grade, I joined the elementary school chorus and have been singing with most of my school life. After singing and playing for a while, I feel pretty good in the environment of music. It was at the age of 9 that I decided to branch out my skills and what I knew about piano and singing. On the way home from school one day, I was listening to the radio and heard an Ozzy Osbourne song. I don't recall the song, but I wondered from then on how cool it would be to write a song. So I got out of the car, ran to my piano in my living room, and started writing my first song called "In The Moonlight." I've been writing songs ever since, and I'm almost to 50, which is one of the biggest accomplishments I've made in my life.

Music can impact many people, from listening, to writing, to composing with other people, it brings a community together, young and old. I've been blessed to share my work with other people, and someday I hope to move the world.