I can’t remember ever wanting to be anything professionally outside of a stage. At first I started with Dance then Choir. Soon followed by Band and Musical Theater. Unfortunately I had to quit Dance when moving to the U.S. with my mom since I would now be living in a single parent household. I could no longer afford to do any activities outside of school unless they were free. Obviously not many are free but Choir was and so I joined and I loved every second of it. My passion has always been to sing. My mom says I was singing before I could even talk. As we aged higher grade levels got different opportunities some of those being Honor Choir and Band and more exclusively Musical Theater. I was lucky enough to be able to join them and make a family out of it. The people in them showed me so much and the effort I had to put on for a great performance also taught me a ton. I later was able to join guitar and perform with that too. I always had a passion for music and the stage but without school giving me knowledge in it and instruments to work with I would've never been able to fuel my passion coming from a low single income family. Music has been the one thing that has made me fearless not in the dangerous thrilling sort of way but in the I can try anything and know that it’s not embarrassing to be new at something. Music has taught me that talent doesn’t exist. True talent is effort and resilience. I believe that it’s something that every kid should be able to be offered the opportunity to learn such things and be able to participate in. This something that could fuel a new drive or passion. This gives kid an opportunity to stay out of bad friendships like the ones I’ve lost several friends to. This provides a safe space for them and let’s them meet people to grow with. Music and performance gives kids confidence in themselves. It also provides a good brain stimulation and is a good activity for anyone. In August I will be a student at Glendale Community College which I chose specifically because I know they have an amazing music program and I want to be the best. I will be continuing in band and guitar while working on becoming a music producer. That will be my “fall” plan but really the only reason I’m pursuing it is because I want to be a singer but I want to learn how to make everything I can hear inside my head. I want to be able to create every part myself. My fall plan is truthly my stepping stone because I refuse to do anything smaller than my dream. I believe my only purpose of existence is to make music to connect others and empower them. I will stop at nothing to achieve what I know I was meant to.

In October of 2022 I missed the opportunity to play at our marching band expo because I got Covid. Unfortunately for me I had no idea the cascade of events that would follow this. At first the pain was something mild I could ignore but as the weeks went by it increasingly got worse. The pain started to play a bigger and bigger role in my life till on thanksgiving day I sat upstairs in a room alone crying and twisting in pain. Then became my life of hospitals and doctor visits and as time increased without answers my fear of death did too. By January my thoughts and fears had changed “I just want them to know what’s wrong with me. If I’m going to die I don't care, I just want the pain to go away” that was the only thing my brain screamed in January of 2023 after over 3 months of being in hospitals in and outside the country. I was so tired of getting labs and being put in weird machines multiple times a week to simply hear back “Everything seems to be good I have no idea what’s happening. I'll refer you to ____ specialist or go back to your family physician for another referral if it continues”. The pain had never stopped and would continue till the day of me writing this. I was a newly 16 year old who spent her birthday in doctor offices and had lost her fear of death because death seemed to be the only logical answer. No one should be in that much physical torture if their body isn’t killing them. Along with that the isolation hits and depressing hospital rooms seem to hit harder than ever before. I had never been in there long enough to feel the emotions that haunt those hallways and although I finally found out what's wrong I’m not sure if I feel more hopeless knowing than not knowing. I was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS). I also found out no one knows how to cure it for sure. No amount of painkillers ever worked despite the high dosages or the strength of them, and no new treatment ever had any effect. The only thing that ever glazed the surface of my pain to make it any bit more tolerable was music. Pop music or Alternative rock have been my strongest painkillers. Although they don't make the problem go away, it was like slapping a bandaid on a cut. I lived vicariously through the songs, the happy ones by dancing and the angry ones because I had no one to blame and I could just put myself in the positions of the songs so I could blame someone. Even though it hurt to play my flute and flared everything it helped my soul. I started playing in 6th grade and it stole my heart from the first sound I ever made. It helped me through tough times and was my best friend. My first and always instrument was my voice. My mom says I was singing before I could talk. My dream is to sing on big stages and have my own freedom to make everything I hear inside my head. I want to help others feel connected and release bottled up emotions. I wanna be their medicine and help them if not heal maybe feel the pain a little less. So I’m Going to school to become a music producer white continuing with the symphonic band and guitar/piano who became my family. The past couple of years.