I am Olivia Sunshine Doucette, formerly Olivia Brown, formerly Olivia Johnson, and I may never know my birth surname. I was born addicted to methamphetamines. I suffered severe abuse and neglect from birth to the age of four when I was put into foster care. I had been removed from my birth mother and reunited with her eight times. The last time I was taken I was found by a city worker playing in the street wearing only a filthy diaper. The police found the trailer with my birth mother and were unable to rouse her. There was no food, no clothing, no electricity...just empty bottles, cigarettes and drug paraphernalia scattered about. I lived in four different foster homes and was adopted by a white family at age seven. I only state "white family" because I am Hispanic/African American and my adoptive parents were very different from me and the people I was used to. I had a lot of difficulty adjusting and endless behavioral issues. I could not focus or control my anxiety and therapy and medication were not helping. My first musical inspiration was my foster grandfather in my third foster home. He would play the bass and sing to us. When I missed my biological mother and did not know where I would live or if I would ever see her again, his voice would stop my tears. Grandpa David passed away from kidney disease but I will never forget the comfort he gave me through song. In the same foster home, my Grandma Shirley had us sing in the church choir. Music was my foundation before I even knew it. I began playing violin in elementary school and my soul was touched. My love for music got me through some of my darkest times. I went on to teach myself guitar and piano, but my true love is song writing. In high school I explored Digital Design, Visual Arts, Band, Orchestra, Sound Design, and Theater Arts. I love writing and mixing music. As I progressed in high school, art, music, and theater were always my haven. My adoptive father was diagnosed with cancer in 2022. The strain of seeing my mom's sadness and my dad's sickness from chemotherapy and radiation was a lot to deal with, but I continued to work hard and persevere. I am now graduating from Pamlico County High School with a 3.1 GPA and have been accepted to Elizabeth City State University as a music major. I want to help others as I have been through music. My goal is to become a Music Therapist. I found a way to flourish in music and I want to provide comfort through sound to lonely and scared youth. My volunteer service includes, SDSU Mission Trail Park Rehabilitation, San Diego Food Bank, Keep the Sea Plastic Free Ocean Clean Up, 12 inch hair donation to Locks of Love, Friends of Pamlico Library, and The Old Theater Children's Theater. Working with the theater children was by far the most fulfilling. I want to provide help for troubled and depressed children and teenagers. I definitely needed support in my life and I feel I can give back through Music Therapy. Music broke through to me when nothing else could. I want to encourage children by teaching them the beauty of art and music. University Christian Church taught me to love and include everyone. I always reach out to the new student or the person sitting alone because we all need acceptance. In my future, I want to be a true resource for unity and love.

Six Feet Under, Wildflower, and I Love You—all sung by Billie Eilish—have resonated with me deeper than her most common songs, which her audience would know in a heartbeat. "Help, I lost myself again But I remember you Don't come back, it won't end well But I wish you'd tell me to Our love is six feet under I can't help but wonder If our grave was watered by the rain Would roses bloom? Could roses bloom again?" These lyrics resonate profoundly with me, as my entire life has been marked by a pervasive emptiness, particularly after living in the nature of pain. I often feel adrift and isolated in this world. I could be surrounded by people yet still feel as if I were merely a spectator in the room. Eating and drinking often seem to have no tangible impact on my existence. I'll eat anything I am interested in and feel like I'm starving. I can drink, and my mouth will fill dry. Falling into a deep sleep feels akin to being entombed—like six feet under. Living with this profound sense of detachment, I can only perceive the shadows of the days and nights that envelop those I encounter, especially my mistakes that I made with certain exes in my life. I eventually resigned myself to the idea that it didn’t matter if they hurt me or desired me for superficial reasons. If they sought reconciliation, my response was often a nonchalant, "I guess, why not?" It wasn’t rooted in trust; rather, it was a means of burying yet another piece of myself. I no longer wanted to be someone I didn't feel like I could be, so overtime I became a better me. A greater me. Wildflower resonates just by the title, because a wildflower itself is unique and out of the blue. Defining exactly what people tell me on the daily. I carry a very interesting vibe, and character. A wildflower can sprout anywhere, where you can predict where it will grow, but at the same time can't. Sprouting and growing in my own ways that a flower grows, away from being at stage one. Each environment I am always at stage one and grow steadily up to a better me each time except for the way I love. The way I love someone will never completely go away. Like a wildflower I won't lose my colors, and brightness of life until I pass. No matter the environment, I will never change the type of person I am for anyone. I will always remain the same wildflower that I am till this day. In the brightest, and darkest times of life.