Passion

     I've been thinking about what I want to be when I grow up. I want to work with people. It's not always been like that. I didn't grow up being a real people person. I was actually kind of introverted growing up. It wasn't until I served a mission for two years, among the great people of North Carolina, that I really opened up to people; but serving people for two years straight will do that to you.

     Since then, I have become very interested in working with people for a living. I am currently going to school for Social Work. My goal has been to eventually work with the youth of the world. I'm not sure how yet, but I want to work with the younger generation and inspire them. I've thought about venues from juvenile corrections, to motivational speaking, to seminary/institute teaching, to summer programs. Until recently, I had never thought of inspiring through music!

     My family has always been musical. Ever since I can remember, I've been singing with them. We would always get together to sing anything we wanted to. There have been a lot of late night jam sessions with the ukulele, guitar, and piano. When our family from the islands (Hawaii) are around, shoot! It's a party! It can get a little crazy sometimes! 

     As I said before, I've recently been inspired to use music as a way to influence and inspire the youth. Don't ask me how cuz I really have no idea at this point. All I know is that I'm passionate about music more than anything…besides my religion and my family of course! And I know that if I don't use this wonderful talent I've been blessed with, I will lose it! That would just be devastating.

 (Just to give you an idea of how much I love singing, I shall tell you a story. When I was a senior in high school, I had to get surgery on my throat because of a growth that was in it. I was really nervous about the surgery because I thought that it might possibly effect the way I sing; maybe even prevent me from ever singing again. My mother says that when I came to after the surgery, I hummed a little tune, then began to cry. When she asked me what was wrong, she claims I said through "big tears," "I can still sing!" Well, if anything that would show you how much I value singing unconsciously right?)

     Anyways, so I'm passionate about music. Now I know that I'm supposed to use music in however I wish to inspire the youth. I'm not sure how that's going to work out, but I have total faith and confidence that everything will work out the way it's supposed to. 

(Picture of a couple of us by "The Bean" in Chicago.)

     For the past two years I've had the opportunity to work with teens from Chicago. All of them are boys and all of them live pretty rough lives in one way, or often many ways. I go with a couple of the professors from the university and a group of students. We go to Chicago to pick up the boys, but end up staying there to tour Chicago for about four days. At the end of the four days, we throw the boys on a plane and bring them up here to Idaho for about a week and a half. During this time, we as a group of students work with the young men in teaching them skills and crafts. It's a pretty special program. It will always have a special place in my heart. 

     While I was here in Idaho with those boys, this last summer, I was actually able to write a song for the boys. Keep in mind, I've only ever written songs for fun. I've never actually recorded any of the ones I've written in the past because they were just fun projects of mine. The only other song I've written myself, that I've recorded, is a song that I made for an organization called Student Support here at BYU-Idaho. That program has a special place in my heart as well, and the song I wrote for the program is very special too. When I wrote that song, just as I wrote the song dedicated to the Chicago boys, the words and the tune/chords came to me within a matter of a couple hours. It was the fastest I'd ever written a song.

     It was when I wrote this song while with the boys that I came to a realization that I needed to use this talent to bless the lives of others. Since then, I recognize things here and there that are helping me work toward my goal of using music to inspire. 

     So, there it is. I want to be a Social Work Musician when I grow up! lol well, something like that. This is what I'm passionate for, this is what I want to do with my life. However, music, especially writing/composing it can take up a lot of time itself!

Any suggestions?

"Music is a universal language. So then, let's speak to the world"