I have been writing songs for about five years now and it’s something that I treasure. It provides such a sense of accomplishment. It helps me define my feelings and know what’s going inside of my crazy head.

Living through our daily lives, we all experience the highs and lows of emotions, we go through breakups, we think about our past and worry about the future.  When I have those feelings rumbling inside of me they come out in my songs.

By the time I’m done writing, I have something that I can look at, something real that is concrete.  When I listen back to my songs I feel good, I feel accomplished. I feel proud that I made a song that I listen to at anytime, a song that will always exist. I will always be able to listen back and I know I made it.  It’s a great outlet for emotions, instead of letting them bottle up inside.

It’s a feeling that everyone should experience. It doesn’t have to be the type of expression that people usually think of like music or painting. It can be anything that captures an emotion, a time and a place.

From poetry and doodles in between your science notes, to sketches in a notebook, it all has worth. What you get out of expressing yourself is invaluable.

But I think the true shame is when that’s where it stops. I think most people do those tiny drawings, those things you write when you have to get the emotion out, the songs that you write just for fun.

The final step, a step that I even haven’t embraced completely, is sharing, putting it out there in the world.

When I listen to the radio and when I watch television, I get bored. It’s the same stuff we’ve been seeing and hearing for what feels like forever.  I want to hear and see something new, something that inspires. I bet someone reading these words have that in them. I even bet that person has that song, drawing or painting hidden away in their room.

I know that it’s scary. I know how putting yourself out there, revealing your heart and soul can be nerve wracking. It is scary to put those things out there to judge, but the feeling you get when someone connects with you, when someone likes what you have to say, it’s worth all the risks.

It helps you feel less lonely to know that someone understands your inner thoughts.  It just feels good to get those things out there.

Every time I leave the stage after a performance, I’m glad I’ve done it.

So let your voice be heard. Not everyone’s going to like it, some will hate it, but you’ll always be able to tell yourself that you did it, that you had the guts to put yourself out there.

I want to make a pact with my readers, if I put myself out there, if I sing these songs that show my inner mind, you’ll at least make an attempt, at least try to get out there and show the world what you have inside.