Good question. I’m often presented with this question when I’m at church or post fragments of songs I’ve been writing and playing on my guitar on social media. It is easily one of my favorite questions to answer, not just because it’s a conversation starter, but because it allows me to share how playing the guitar has served as an emotional outlet for me over the past eight years. Playing the guitar is a hobby that has allowed me to process the world around me. From the joys and triumphs to the anxieties and heartaches, my guitar is and always has been there for me, and sharing the fragments of my songs written on the guitar truly feels like I am sharing a piece of myself.
The short answer is that I’ve been playing guitar since I was 14. No formal training whatsoever – just a girl with a dad who loved her so much that he bought her the exact guitar model she wanted for her 14th birthday. I can still remember the feeling of picking up my guitar for the first time and feeling as though I had leveled up or rather graduated from my ukulele because I was finally getting a guitar. While I had to learn a completely new style of playing chords and how to adjust to a larger instrument, it was well worth it to me.
Since picking up the guitar, I’ve learned chords, and strumming patterns and have explored playing in different keys. I would stare at strumming charts for hours and get calluses (still do!) when practicing after school, which is when I would typically practice. I started bringing my guitar to church around 16 when I joined my church’s praise and worship band. Before joining my church’s music team, I was only ever public about my guitar skills online, where I began posting snippets of covers or original songs of mine. Joining my church’s praise and worship team pushed me outside of my comfort zone and widened the scope of learning I could have for my guitar skills. I got the incredible opportunity to shadow a long-time guitar player named Anthony. He taught me new chord shapes and things about my guitar I had overlooked, such as when it was time to replace my strings. His mentorship gave me the confidence to continue playing with my band, and I have been fortunate to share the gift of music with students on church retreats for the last two years.
When I’m not playing for my church’s band, I am creating original songs. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t look to music to cure or supplement whatever emotion I was feeling at the time – both positive and negative. I would start with chords and playing around with different sounds, before layering with lyrics that often start out as mumbles. After I find the best words to convey my feelings, I fall into a momentum of playing and writing back and forth. This process has been innate for me, something I’ve never questioned if it was the correct or best method. Over time, I’ve collected tens of songs, and they all mean something different to me now than they did when I first wrote them. I can’t remember the first song I ever wrote, but they all exist on interfaces like the notes app on my computer, notes on my phone and iPad, notion workspaces, and more recently TikTok. I have my songs scattered all over, but more importantly, accessible to me for years to come which is really special. My music as a time capsule will be something I treasure for the rest of my life.
Playing my guitar has also helped me in my school projects, where I have always enjoyed adding a creative component. Whether I’m creating a song for a final project or inserting a rap in a video project, I’ve used music to help me demonstrate my learning and grasp of different concepts in school. Being able to share my creative endeavors in this way has been so rewarding.
There is a quote from Ash Ketchum, the best Pokemon trainer, who says, “I want to be the very best that no one ever was.” This might have been Ash Ketchum’s dream, but I have realized it is not mine. I would love to keep playing and strive to be the best player I can be, but I know that I am not aiming for perfection. My goals surrounding guitar playing have always been centered around enjoyment and fun. I want to continue with this mantra as I continue to harness my skills and maybe one day produce my own song to share on a platform. For now, my songs follow me throughout my life and mark different moments where I’ve had very great and very poor moments in my love life.
When anyone asks me when I started playing guitar, I think back to how a gift from one of my favorite people allowed me to explore my own gift of sharing music with others. Much like the melodies I write in my bedroom, I hope to continue to give myself the space to explore new sonic landscapes and push the boundaries of my creativity as I grow as a guitar player.