Way More Than a Coincidence

Hey Everyone!

It's been a while! So far the "monthly" blog idea has been going great…

But, I’m back from my hiatus and I’ve got lots of exciting things to share with all of you. The most exciting news is that I’ll be releasing my first music video later this month! It’s for my single “Bridges” which is one of my singles currently up on iTunes. It was so much fun filming the video and I still can’t get over the amazingly talented people who worked on it with me! Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would ever be possible!

So, in honour of its release, I thought I’d tell you all the story of how I wrote “Bridges”. It’s honestly one of my favorite songs that I’ve written just because of the way it came about. It was one of those moments that you know was so much more than just a coincidence. God was definitely at work in this moment of my life, and looking back it feels so incredible to see what He has done with my life so far. So snuggle up, get comfy and let me take you on a crazy journey. This is the story behind “Bridges”.

It was 2012, my last year of high school that I decided to sign up for the annual school trip to El Salvador. I had never done anything like this before in my life, I had never even been a part of a club or team up until this point. But all the same, I felt for some reason that this was something I needed to do. So, I signed up and payed my fee and began preparation for an amazing experience. We were going down to El Sal to learn about how the majority of the world lives, which is much different than the Canadian suburb I'd grown up in. I had an inkling of what I'd experience when we were down there. I knew it would be emotional and life changing, but I don't think I realized just how life changing it would be.

Now, something I should mention is that up until this point, I had never even successfully completed a sleep over at my friends' house down the street without feeling homesick. I was the definition of a homebody and I did not do trips by myself, let alone ones with people that I didn't really know, in a country I'd never been to. But for some strange reason, the reality that I would be away from my home for about a week and still have to sleep at some point hadn't crossed my mind until I was on the plane traveling at about 550mph. If I'm being completely honest, if I could have turned the plane around I probably would have. I was definitely thinking "what have I got myself into".

After we landed though I relaxed a little, I was too in awe of our surroundings to really feel nervous anymore. I only really had trouble sleeping the first night, and that was more from excitement than anything else. The next few days were absolutely amazing, and I would do it all again if I could. We learned so much from these people. They had gone through so much hardship, so much hurt, but they were literally some of the happiest people I had ever met in my life.

I'll never forget the day we met the kids at our sister elementary school and how much fun we had playing with them. We didn't really speak Spanish and they didn't speak English, but that didn't matter. We coloured, played jump rope, and got schooled in soccer (these kids were crazy talented). They were laughing and smiling the entire time we were there, and we couldn’t help but laugh and smile along. But the thing that touched me most while we were there was when the kids tried to share their lunch with us. For some of them, that was the only meal that they would get for the day and they wanted us to have some of it. They offered it freely and with smiles, and I couldn't help but be in awe of this wonderful kids and their joy filled spirits.

I'll say for about the thousandth time that this trip was amazing (which I'm sure you figured out by now) and I was so sad to have to leave. I remember bawling when I actually got home from the airport. I felt guilty in a way that I got to come home to a safe beautiful home after a week of living in difficult situations, but those wonderful people we met in El Salvador were stuck there.

Needless to say it gave me a whole new perspective on life and actually made me decide to switch career paths. I was planning on going to university to be an optometrist, but I decided that I wanted to learn more about why people act the way they do, what causes someone to have such a positive outlook on life? After applying to a few new programs I chose to take Psychology at a local university. It was during my first year while taking a combination of psychology, human rights, and law that “Bridges” came about. I was actually riding home on the city bus when it sprung into my head. I remember getting off two stops early and running home at top speed to get to my piano. Within a few hours, “Bridges” was written and it has taken me places I never thought I’d ever get to go.

But to me the best part about the story is that every time I sing the song, I’ll be brought back to El Salvador. Every time I listen to it, I think of those incredible kids. It gives me hope that I can one day go back to them and say “look what you did, look what you inspired”. To me this song is about awareness, about learning from those who have a lot to say, but maybe no way to get their message heard.

I tried to keep the video centered on this message. That we all come from different walks of life, but we are all still brothers and sisters. We all deserve respect and we all deserve to be heard.

So, now that you know the story, let’s all start tearing down our walls and build some bridges.