About Me

For as long as I can remember, I have been drawn to music. I am actually pretty sure that I started singing, before I even started talking. I grew up in a rural (and I mean very rural) part of Ohio. Went to school, went to church, hung out with my friends, just like any other kid did in that area. I thought too much into what I wanted to do with my life, and ultimately ended up joining the Army when I was 17 years old, my mom signing me off thinking I wouldn't even get past MEPS for being underweight. Once I graduated from high school, I went off to Basic Training, where I spent 6 months reframing my entire mindset. The Army pushed me past what I thought were my limits. It gave me purpose. And so, I wanted to make a career out of it... for a time.

​

I went to college, met new people, and like any other student just coming out of high school, changed my career path so many times, I have lost count. I finally landed on Music Therapy (or so I thought, we'll get there) and applied to a renowned music school located in Columbus, Ohio. I was double majoring in both Music and Psychology. I struggled to keep up with everyone else in the music department, and because of this, my GPA ended up dropping to a 1.9. Devastated, I ended up dropping the music major, as I appeared to be doing well with the Psychology classes, and just stuck with Psychology. After some time, I lost some good friends and eventually ended up feeling outcasted. And then there were some whispers of a deployment in the near future for my unit and that I would be gone for longer than a year due to trainings prior to the deployment. I discussed this with the school, and was told that because they were a private school, they would not give me a leave of absence for longer than a year. My only option was to withdraw and apply again. I withdrew, not just because of the potential deployment, but also because I was going down a dark path and needed a bit of a reset. A few days later, once summer vacation started, I learned that my unit was not getting deployed after all. 

​

I began attending a university close to my parents, since I had moved back in with them and continued my path toward Psychology, hoping to eventually use this in the military and go active duty. And then something occurred that altered my decision forever. Something that would have been unearthed years later by myself and a new command team, which played a part in making much needed changes for the military as a whole. 

​

By the time I was coming close to finishing up with my degree, I ended up leaving the church I grew up in due to a difference in beliefs, which my eyes had been opened to after living in the city. I felt as though my world around me was falling apart. I finished my degree, with my foot in the door of a great company. And then the Covid Pandemic happened, and I was out of work for months, as was everyone else. Once things calmed down a bit, I moved into a place much closer to my work, however the pandemic seemed to changed everything for everyone. Therefore, getting the hours needed was much more difficult than anticipated. And so, I began hopping around from job to job, just so I could get my bills paid for and try and get stable work. During this time, my new unit that I had transferred to in the Army Reserves, was helping me to get ready to use my degree and then I would be able to go full time with this. Just as things were getting close to being done, my contracted had ended, and it appeared that there was a failure in the system, as my command was not notified. I felt that my path was going else where, and I needed to start following it. 

​

I ended up moving closer to Pittsburgh, bought a house and eventually was able to get into a stable job as a Substance Abuse Counselor and during this time, I ended up meeting some people who worked in the film department. I decided to partake in a small film competition in the city. The person who was assigned to write the music was unable to during the time of the competition. And so, I offered to try and write the music, using Garage Band on my iPad. This was a difficult endeavor for me, as playing instruments at times would be triggering, and I had a hard time overcoming this in the past. I did not know if I could actually do it. But I did. Our film was being screened at the Award Show. And so we went. And even though, I was one of the ones nominated for Best Original Music, I really did not think that I would receive this award, being that this was the first time I had ever (actually) written music. But when they called my name, as the winner, everything, every obstacle I ever ran into that you just ready above, just completely dissipated into nothingness. Honestly, I was so shocked, and scared that I couldn't even speak when collecting the award. Which I still to this day feel bad about, but still chuckle at the nervousness.

​

Receiving this award, was exactly what I needed in order to actually feel like I could do something with music. Even though I didn't actually need it, because everything was right there in front of me, I the talent, the experience.. I just couldn't see it. No matter what anyone said to me. I mean, we all really are our own worst critic. And so, here I am, FINALLY doing what I love to do. Yeah, it may just be something I do in my free time right now, but I will never let anything or anyone ever stop me from going after my passion ever again. And you shouldn't either. It won't be an easy road ahead, but it will be worth while.