Matt Fishman Scholarship

Locked down and restless, we were all confined to our bedrooms, the world outside feeling distant and unreachable. The pandemic had isolated us, but that night, something extraordinary happened. Music brought us together in a surreal and unforgettable experience. As the first notes filled the air, a transformation took place. We were no longer individuals of different races, religions, and creeds; we became a unified community. The audience sang, "It's times like these we learn to love again," and at that moment, there was nowhere else we wanted to be. We all belonged right there, sharing the magic of the music. I started playing guitar as a toddler. Music class was the only place where nuts weren't allowed in the mommy-and-me group, and I had contact-reactive food allergies at the time. A sippy cup of milk for me was a threat. Music gave me structure and a place to build my confidence and grit. Music got me. Music helped me through difficult times and gave me a voice when I felt I didn't have one. I'm passionate to give that back to the world. My vision, drive, and work is to write music that makes the audience think wow, that song gets me. Whether it's the melody, the beat, or the lyrics, I want to write music that speaks to people's problems, dreams, and aspirations. But playing guitar became much more difficult after I began Jiu-Jitsu last summer. After constant gi-gripping and sweating, I noticed that my hands became unbearably itchy, painful, and swollen. It was a major problem. The itching kept me up at night and distracted me at school. I have had bouts with eczema before, but jiu-jitsu triggered it epically. While I was worried eczema would stay with me forever this time, music made me appreciate that all problems needed unique and creative solutions, just like writing a song. I was ready to get creative with my eczema. Hoping the irritation would subside, I quit jiu-jitsu, stopped lifting weights, and avoided gripping anything, but the improvement was minimal. So I saw the doctor. I slathered steroids and oddly-named prescription creams, took vitamins, and wore gloves at home, but nothing restored my hands to normal. The eczema began to remind me of working on a stubborn song I couldn't complete, like making progress on a verse, but the chorus wouldn't come to me to fully complete the story. I knew I needed to attack this problem differently. Around the ninth month of this grueling struggle, I discovered a diet focused on fruits, veggies, and green smoothies, along with ample water and nutrient intake. Desperate, I committed to the diet for two weeks. The results were good but not enough to live normally again. I continued the diet, but my skin was rough, bumpy, and STILL ITCHY. After hours of scouring PubMed, I learned I might've changed my skin microbiome while doing jiu-jitsu. I had to view the eczema from a two-pronged approach - inside AND outside. I stumbled upon a novel approach using a probiotic and prebiotic-based soak. While I couldn't find exact strains, I jerry-rigged what I could find to re-normalize my skin microbiome. I'm only a few days in, but I already feel less itchy. I continue to build my protocol, and playing guitar feels wonderful again. This scholarship is going to help me attend my dream school in Nashville. I know music is not a linear path, but this scholarship will really help me on my next step on this journey toward sharing what music has given me with others.