Music by Bailee

Music by Bailee - January 2018 Scholarship Essay

Have you ever been so overwhelmed you just wanted to make it all go away? To disappear? No more worry, no more regret, just peace? Music is my peace. When I sing, when I put in my headphones, everything else just washes away. Music is the one word I would use to describe why I wish to attend college.
My whole life I have been a quiet kid. I prefer to keep to myself instead of risking embarrassment by talking to others. It was never hard to make friends, but I never allowed myself to become close. My freshman year of high school was the most difficult. None of my middle school friends went to the same school as me. As the year went on, I started letting go. I went farther into my head, completely ignoring everything and everyone else. By the end of sophomore year my grades had dropped and I hardly interacted with people, even my family. That’s when my parents decide to have me see a therapist.
Therapy was weird in the beginning, and not like I had seen on television. As the sessions continued, I actually started opening up. Knowing how much I loved music, my therapist convinced me to use this to my advantage, as a way to cope. I had even decided to take Songwriting my junior year: something I never would have done before. I started putting myself out there through my music, letting myself express how I felt. I was starting to get better.
My junior year was one of my best. I started loving Songwriting, finding it a way to be myself. Whenever I felt like hiding, I just focused on the music. Whether I was playing or listening, music helped me fight the nerves. My grades started to get better and I made some amazing friends who I really connected with. Music allowed me to feel like I belonged.
The feeling that music gave me is one of the reasons I’m continuing with it as a career. I love being able to perform, hoping that my music will affect others the way I was effected. I feel lucky to be able to connect to the music like I do. Music is my everything and my reason to continue my education.