Band based out of Waldorf, Maryland, looking for the following members to complete it. It is currently made up of myself, my boyfriend, and a few other friends of ours. We need dedicated members, though. The contact’s name is Jason Smith. Thank you in advance to those who express interest or pass this along 🙂
The semester is finally over………Thank. God.
I’m back home in Maryland for the summer. Since I currently don’t have a summer job, I have more time to do things, like work on music. So far, I have a few things that I would like to accomplish over the summer.
The first one is learn to play guitar. A friend of mine let me borrow her acoustic guitar for the summer. So far I’m just working on strumming, but I’ll try to learn chords and tabs soon. I’m also looking into buying a used acoustic of my own. I bought a tuner yesterday (since my friend’s guitar doesn’t hold a tune for very long), but that’s it so far. I’m also trying to do this all on a college-student budget, so this should be fun.
(http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/10/a2/5f/10a25f8648e73ab724fbbe18d99f9a64.jpg)
The second thing that I’m trying to do is write more. I want to make it a goal to write at least one thing a day, whether it be a poem or a song. I also wanna resume writing my fanfictions again; I’ve worked on one already and hope to be done with it soon. Unfortunately, I’m use to writing only when I’m inspired or deeply moved by something. However, inspiration’s not always easy to find in my case. I’ll probably end up forcing myself to write something; I can always tweak or scrap it later if I’m not happy with it. If I’m going to be a singer-songwriter, then it would probably be beneficial to have a lot of material to work with.
The third thing- which also ties into the last thing- is start uploading some videos to Youtube. I need to start putting myself out there so that I can start sharing my music with others. My writings will never have the impact that I want them to if I don’t share them with others. Now, I just need the confidence to do so, which brings me to my last point.
The final thing that I want to do this summer is gain CONFIDENCE. It would probably be a good idea for me to get rid of my stage fright as I work towards becoming a singer-songwriter, so that’s something I want to have eliminated by the time that summer’s over. I’ve got until August, so I think that’s a pretty reasonable goal. I recorded myself singing “Farther Away” by Evanescence a few nights ago and shared it with a few of my friends through Facebook; unfortunately, I recorded it around 11pm when my mom was sleeping, so the high notes didn’t sound that great (high notes rarely sound good when they’re sung quietly, well, at least in my case). My friends said that they liked it nonetheless; I hated the way I sounded, though. I’l try again soon with another song (or even rerecord the last one; I haven’t decided yet).
So those are my singer-songwriter goals for the summer. Let me know your thoughts on them, especially if you have any tips for buying a guitar, learning to play as a beginner, or gaining more confidence vocally. Until next time 🙂
Hello, everyone. I’ve talked quite a bit about songs and poetry. However, in my first blog, there was one other type of writing that I briefly mentioned but haven’t talked about yet. I thought that I would talk about that today.
For those of you who don’t know, fanfiction is, well, what it sounds like. Fans of movies, books, tv shows, cartoons, etc. write their own fiction based off of whatever they are interested in. For example, if you are a fan of Doctor Who and wished that something different would have happened in a certain episode/season, you can write about what you wish would have happened. Sounds cool, right? I think it is.
There are many fandoms (or communities that makes up a particular tv show, cartoon, etc.) out there. Some include Doctor Who, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Teen Wolf, Young Justice, Harry Potter…you name it; there’s a fanfiction for it. There are even fanfictions for video games and non-fiction fanfiction (this would usually be about celebrities or other people in real life).
My first fanfiction was based off of Neopets. If you don’t know what that it, it’s basically an online world full of made-up creatures that you can take care of, dress, play with, etc. (go to neopets.com and browse for a bit if you want to know more). I based it off of a female kyrii named Tony. The plot’s still in the works honestly, but this is the first fanfiction that I started writing. I had the idea when I was in 7th/8th grade and even had a few chapters written, but now it may be time for me to start from scratch again with this fanfiction (or find the chapters that I wrote before….that could help, too).
I’ve started and had ideas for other fanfictions as well. These fanfictions are based off of Young Justice, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Frozen/Rise of the Guardians (what is known as a crossover), and more.
I like fanfiction because I admire the creativity of the fans and enjoy reading the stories based off of popular tv shows, video games, etc. However, there is a dark side to fanfiction. Unfortunately, some fanfictions are…well…weird/disturbing/unnecessarily sexual…take your pick from any of those choices. Another issue that I have with fanfiction is that some writers do not always use correct grammar/punctuation in their stories. I could be totally in love with the plot of a story, but have difficulty reading it because the grammar and punctuation are so bad. It’s frustrating, really.
The website that I use to write/read fanfiction is fanfiction.net. It really is a great website, and the community has some very nice people. Some members of that site have read and commented on my work and have even asked me to give feedback on or proofread their work. Crazy, right? It really is interesting to see how people interpret different aspects of pop culture and put their own spin on it. I also find it interesting how people from all over the world can connect through something that they love.
If you want to read my fanfiction, then click this link: https://www.fanfiction.net/~shiika777. If you do choose to view my writing however, I only have this to say: 
( http://cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/30715362.jpg)
Until next time, everyone 🙂
Hello, everyone. I have another song that I want to share with you all. The story behind this song may be a bit odd for some of you (but I promise I’m not making this up). At times, I will have the urge to sing something, but I won’t have the words or even the notes to express it. This was the case a few weeks ago. One night, when I got in the shower, I just started singing, words and all. They just came to me. I usually can’t come up with things like that on the spot, but that night I sang an entire song in the shower. Crazy, right? I still think it is. Personally, I believe that God gave me that song that night to express how I was truly feeling. It even kinda sounds like a prayer, just maybe not a “typical” prayer (you know, the ones that truly praise God through everything…yea those). Basically, this song is me crying out to God that I need Him.
(verse 1)
These problems on my heart
Are weighing me down
When will you turn all of this around?
Please take my hand
Please take my heart
Please take and give me a brand new start
(chorus)
I need You
I need You
I need You more than I did before
I need You
I need You
I need You more than I did before
(verse 2)
I’ve been here for so long now
I’m starting to lose hope
I’m tired of feeling alone
Must escape from this purgatory
Leave this dark night
But I need strength to keep up this fight
(bridge/hook thingy…not really sure what to call this)
Tell when will this be over
Tell me when will I have peace
Is it true that through all of this, You’re still with me?
I know that You still speak to me
That one day, all this will end…
But I need You to carry me til then…Jesus (go to chorus)
I had to rewrite the verses later, but this is pretty much it. It’s a moderately slow song; the tune kinda sounds like “Every Time We Touch” by Cascada. I really want to record it soon, but I either need to find someone who has a guitar or learn to play one myself (and free time to record this would also be desirable).
Well, that’s all for this post. What do you think of this song? I’d love your feedback on this. I’m almost finished with this semester of college, so I should have a lot more free time to write. Stay tuned for my next post 🙂
Wednesday after Women’s Choir, I met briefly with my teacher/conductor, Dr. Ginger Wyrick. We met because I wanted to go over a few things for our pieces that we’re singing at our concert in a few weeks. However, I wound up learning more than what I thought I would in our meeting.
What was interesting to me was that she was able to relate music to physics and even time travel. She related the frequency of pitches to sine and cosine waves (and I thought Calculus would be the last time I heard of those terms). She mentioned time travel since we could listen to music from the past and see how much it has evolved and changed now. One comment she said stood out to me, though; she said that music was transcendent.
I know. I know. I’ve said this statement before, but I found a video the other night that I wanted to share with you guys to prove my point. No, it’s not a rock song. No, it’s not a Christian song. It actually doesn’t have a singer at all. It’s a song by a violinist named Lindsey Stirling. I want you watch this video carefully and see how her music is affecting the other people in this video. Also, listen to what she has to say at the end. She clearly affirms my assertions about music being powerful and transcendent. I hope you all enjoy the video. Let me know what you all think, too. Until next time 🙂
At my college, there are events that we must attend called lyceums. It’s difficult to explain exactly what they are. The closest description I can give is that they are culturally enriching experiences with four different categories: faith, (personal) growth, (fine) arts, and lecture. Last Saturday night, I went to an Arts Lyceum entitled South by South Africa. The university singers, a few other Wingate students, and other choirs from around the state performed a variety of different African songs and hymns. This was an amazing experience for me (and I was not the only one who felt this way).
I say that this was an amazing experience because everyone could get involved. For a few of the songs, the director asked the audience to either just sing along with the choir or to dance and sing along with the choir. At Arts Lyceums, the audience is usually not involved, so this was different for everyone. Nonetheless, it was a lot of fun participating in the singing and dancing with the choirs. It appeared that everyone had a lot of fun.
The singing itself was also amazing. The sound of all the different choirs was so beautiful, especially when they all sang together; I was almost overwhelmed by how amazing every piece sounded to me. All of the passion and emotion evoked through each singer was definitely enjoyable for me to observe as well as listen to. I’m still mostly speechless when I try to describe exactly how I felt.
The highlight of this lyceum for me was the finale. All of the choirs were in the audience. They stood up for their last song, “We Walk in the Light,” a South African hymn. As they neared the end of the song, the choir members formed a sort of conga-line and sang their way to the back of the auditorium and out into the rotunda. As they were lined up in the aisles, a few of them motioned for the audience members to join in the line. Some, including myself, happily obliged. We all went out into the rotunda, where the singing and dancing continued. It was this moment that helped confirmed my belief about music: it’s universal as well as transcendental. Music has the power to touch any individual on any level, regardless of the country or culture it comes from or even the language that it’s sung in. That happened Saturday night. Everyone was touched by the songs that night; everyone enjoyed themselves. It was truly an unforgettable experience.
Here’s a link that shows a bit of the final performance in the rotunda. You can see all the Wingate students, who weren’t even a part of the choir, joining in:
Hello everyone. I’ve been talking a lot about my inspiration and reasons for writing songs and poetry; however, I haven’t posted many of my own writings. Let’s change that, shall we?
I haven’t completed a song in a while. Some have been started, but that beloved writer’s block has prevented me from finishing them (school has also had a hand in preventing me completing a song). The ones that I have written thus far all tend to center around the themes of feeling trapped, isolated, hurt, desperate, etc. (as I said in an earlier blog, I tend to express more negative emotions through my writings). A lot has been going on in my life recently that’s been weighing pretty heavily on my mind. Essentially, I’ve been feeling like this for over a month:
(http://www.troll.me/2011/12/23/dramatic-soap-opera-cat/too-many-emotions/)
Writing, prayer, and isolation have been my only real escapes. Here’s something I started writing last Sunday:
“Drown in a sea of my own tears
Ring my heart dry
Of all the pain, all the lies
Let it scream from bitter anger
Let it shout until it’s hoarse
Let it burst forth from my chest
Wallow in this great sea
Utter the cries of the damned”
Very cheerful, isn’t it? That’s not even all of what I wrote yesterday. Everything that I have been dealing with lately kinda took a toll on me, so I wrote to try to alleviate some of the pain and frustration that I was feeling. It was different this time, though. Usually, I can write according to a structure first (write a verse or two, start the chorus, etc.); I can also connect ideas fairly easily. Yesterday, however, neither of that happened. My plan is to add more lines to it, then connect ideas, rhyme lines, and map out the song structure later. I imagined this being a slow-paced song with a piano as accompaniment.
Here’s part of another song that I started (this one actually has rhyming and structure):
“Reoccurring failure
It never seems to end
Everytime things get better
I fall short again
Will this circle be unbroken
Will I ever make you happy
Can you look me in the eye and tell me
That you still need me
I’ve conceived my mistakes
And am pregnant with guilt
3 trimesters in self-loathing
Self-condemnation is then built
Into my psyche, my core
There’s nothing left in store
For me…
But yet I still hear you voice”
Yet another happy passage to share with you all. I do apologize if these trigger any negative emotions, memories, etc. in anyone; that is not my intent. My intent is to simply put my feelings into lyrics, then express them in the form of a song to bring comfort to others (surprisingly, depressing songs help do actually help some people). I also imagined this being a slow song being sung with a piano as accompaniment.
Again, my apologies for these depressing lyrics; this is just how I wound up expressing myself with everything that’s been going on lately. I do want to know what you all think of these pieces so far, though (constructive criticism only, please). I may post some of my completed poems in my next blog (I’ll try to include some happy or funny ones for you all), so please check back for more 🙂
I’ve talked a lot about singing and music in my other blogs; however, I have not yet touched on my other writings, such as my poetry.
I’ve been writing poetry since I was in middle school. I would always get excited in class whenever we either had to write a poem or another creative writing exercise was given. Creative Writing has always been enjoyable for me. When it came to poetry, I loved the rhythms and the rhymes that I would create while writing.
In high school, I joined a performing arts club known as Expanding Horizons. It included poets, singers, musicians, and even dancers and models. I was able to connect with and even learn from other poets my age. I also recited my poetry in front of a live audience for the first time. We would perform at various events, one of our biggest ones being Juneteenth (the celebration of black slaves in Texas learning about the Emancipation Proclamation two and a half years after it was signed). Here is a picture of me reciting one of my poems at this event:
Over time, poetry became a way for me to express my thoughts and emotions. Whenever I would feel depressed, angry, confused, or any other negative emotion, I would write. For some reason, I have found it easier to express myself through poetry; prose just doesn’t have enough power to truly express myself the way that I want to. Writing in general brings me a sort of peace and comfort that nothing else does. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t write. I’ve also noticed that my poetry has seemed to help others as well; some of my friends have said they empathize with after reading some of my poems. That’s also helped me to realize that I’m not the only person who has felt a certain way before. To know that I’m not alone is a comfort in itself.
I have been published a few times as well. One was in an amateur poetry collection through an organization called World Poetry Movement. I found a link on Facebook that advertised an opportunity to win up to $10,000 for submitting a poem. I saw this as a scholarship opportunity, so I clicked on the link. I had no idea that this was also an opportunity to be published. Later, I received a letter asking me to proofread my work so that it could be published. This was a very nice surprise. I was also published in a magazine called Women of Power; Women of Power International is a Christian organization dedicated to empowering women to fulfill their callings from God. Last year I started publishing some of my poems on Writerscafe.com. This website allows others to not only view my poetry, but also to provide feedback for my poems. It is a very good resource for those looking to publish their writings.
Here is a link to my poetry on Writerscafe if you wish to read some of my poems: http://www.writerscafe.org/link/657888/LexyLewis19/ (If you can’t view my poetry through this link, please let me know so that I can make my poetry accessible to you.)
Hello everyone. I know it’s been a while since my last post; I’ve been pretty busy at school. In this post, I wanted to talk about what singers/bands I look up to and draw inspiration from.
Because I am a writer, I tend to pay more attention to the lyrics and messages of songs more than anything else. I also tend to focus more on the singer(s)’ voice(s) because I want to sing my own songs someday. With that being said, I have a preference for aggressive voices. To me, singers have power in their voices, and aggressiveness helps to display that power more clearly. One of my favorite male singers is John Cooper, the lead singer of the band called Skillet. Skillet is a Christian rock band, but not all of their songs praise God directly. A lot of their songs deal with break-ups or even common problems that young people may face. I like this band because they seem to clearly express problems that any young person can relate to, but they also tend to put a positive spin on their songs. For example, their song “Not Gonna Die” from their latest album, Rise, has this line: “they can’t keep their chains on me/ when the truth has set me free.” The “truth has set me free” part can be found in John 8:32, which reads, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (NKJV). They are implying that because they know the truth that the Bible teaches, they are still free regardless of the circumstances. I like how they honestly state their feelings and still manage to put something positive and even Christian-related in their music. I also like that basically anyone, even those who aren’t Christian, can relate to their music.
One of my all-time favorite singers is Amy Lee, the lead singer of the band Evanescence. Her voice is not aggressive, but it is a very rich, full mezzo-soprano voice. To me, her voice is nothing short of angelic. The way she sings her songs is even more impressive to me. Her voice captivates you; she makes you feel what she feels when you listen to her songs. Evanescence is not a Christian band, and some of the lyrics are a bit dark; however, I still love this band because the lyrics are honest and relatable. Her lyrics also seem very poetic compared to other songs that I’ve listened to. I really love the passion that she expresses when she sings; that and her voice alone are probably what I love most about the band. The song “Breathe No More” is probably one of the best examples of how passionate Amy Lee is when she sings.
I chose to talk about these two singers/bands because I want to try to imitate their styles. I want to write very poetically and sing very passionately like Amy Lee, and I also want to be positive and encouraging and even allude to some Christian themes in my songs like Skillet does. These are only two of my favorite bands, however. I do recognize that there are plenty of other talented bands and singers out there. If you have any suggestions for bands I should look up, please feel free to comment. I’m always looking for more good music 🙂
Last week, I posted one of the songs that I have completed. I have also posted why I wanted to write songs. However, I have not talked much about my inspiration for my writings.
My inspiration comes from many sources. My primary source is my own emotions and experiences. As I stated in one of my previous blogs, I write to express myself. Whenever I’m dealing with something internally and don’t really know how to express it verbally, I’ll write it. When I write my feelings, they can become prose, poetry, or a song. I don’t really choose the form, however. You know the phrase, “I didn’t choose the thug life; the thug life chose me”? That statement basically describes what form my thoughts take when I write; they tend to choose themselves.
Another source of inspiration for my writings is my friends and family, mainly my friends. My friends and I talk about situations we go through almost daily. We all have issues and seem to go through hard times around the same time. When they vent to me about their issues, sometimes my heart breaks for them, and I usually end up bearing their burden for a while (which I realize isn’t always healthy). If I bear their burdens and emotions long enough, then I will write about them. I may write to either help them in some way or to simply express what they are feeling at the time.
Other stories I hear from the news, things I learn in class, and even stories I hear from others can also be a source of inspiration. I remember one instance in which my boyfriend told me the story of Junko Futura, a Japanese schoolgirl who was abducted, tortured for forty-four days straight, and then died as a result. What made the story even worse was that her abductors did not receive full or adequate punishment from the law because they were minors. This story really shocked me, and I consequently wrote a poem about it. I’ve even had ideas for writing poems about Biblical characters (after learning about them in church or in class) and historical fiction (one in particular based on the French Revolution, thanks to my World History class).
Basically, I can take inspiration from anywhere as long as I develop some type of feeling. I tend to write darker works because my negative emotions (sadness, depression, anger, loneliness, confusion, etc.) are stronger (and, sadly, more frequent) than my positive emotions. For example, the song that I posted in my last blog was inspired by a conversation between my friends and me. We were talking about issues that we were currently going through that were stressing and depressing us. I wrote that song to not only give us a voice, but to also help us in a small way. I knew that I couldn’t fix our problems, but I knew that music helps us all when we feel at our lowest. I wanted to write something that would help them, even if it was in a small way.
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