Dear Friend, I'd like to share a story with you... ...about a girl. The youngest of six children, “the baby”, she spent summers barefoot and picking raspberries. During the winter she listened to the crackling fireplace while warming cold fingers after hours in the snow. She learned delight and appreciation. This girl was spritely and filled with joy. She was loving and always wanted to please those around her. She trusted quickly and forgave easily. Childhood was abundant. It also came with hardships. Life brought sickness, hurt, struggle, and great loss. She was fifteen when her dad lost his battle to cancer. She didn't know then, but these experiences taught her the gift of resilience, the value of hope, the beauty of love, and the friendship of music. Through the years this "Energizer Bunny" mastered the art of wearing masks to cover up her sorrow and fear. "Put a smile on your face, don't be a burden, and push through." Externally she was thriving. Internally she was numb, so she wrote. Songs, poems, and journaling were her haven for raw, unfiltered honesty. At the University of New Hampshire she began writing songs on her dad’s old guitar. It was a balm. Sophomore year brought a reckoning with her faith, a belief in a force of love and restoration. She had a sense of belonging just as she was. This also lead to self-reflection, opening wounds that had never really healed. Afraid, an eating disorder became her escape. There was sickness, hurt, struggle, and loss... ...and then there was resilience, hope, love, and music. Post undergrad, this now adult knew she wanted to help people, see them thrive. She also knew music filled her veins with an energy unmatched, meeting her wherever she was with exactly what she needed. Music was her confidant, dance partner, comforter, her mood lifter. Through the years, personal growth, therapy, amazing friends, and creating, all brought more clarity: She would cultivate Connection, Solidarity, and Hope through Love and Creative Expression. That little girl is now in her thirties. She is still spritely, loving, and filled with joy. She is also authentic and vulnerable. This woman has traveled. She has loved and lost. She cares for the environment and is passionate about ending injustice. She is an aunt to five incredible young humans and a mom to her feline Mowgli. She lives her vision. This woman is learning daily to trust her knowing and believe her worth. She is bold. She is courageous. She is flourishing. With the dawn she rises. I seek daily to cultivate connection, solidarity, and hope through love and creative expression. My hope is that as I share my music and heart with integrity and authenticity, you too feel empowered to live authentically. May you come to know and love yourself more and more, as you journey Around The Sun. BeBold, Kimayo
