Branches Book

BRANCHES

a deep love in the consistency of being able to pick up my guitar whenever I wanted to and was enamored by the way a chord could compliment my voice. After I had mastered four basic chords I thought I could conquer the musical world and began writing my first song, “Hammer or a Brick.” Composing my own music is like a little burst of brilliance. Whether it was a soggy sandwich or a fight with a friend, I could always come home to my guitar and my imagination to get out any lingering feelings. I found my passion for writing songs and my voice during my journey through freshmen year. In middle school I struggled with self-advocacy, but I later realized that my songs and lyrics were an outlet for my opinions and sentiments. My song “Hammer or a Brick” refers to a relationship constructed on lies and deceit, where ultimately one person leaves the other. People assume that this song is about a romantic relationship, when really it represents my feeling of drifting away from negativity in my life. My advocacy persisted in my songs any time I felt moved by an experience, current event, or novel. I started writing songs about domestic violence and inequality, allowing my feminism to shine through in my compositions. My passion for literature is equally prevalent in my songs. “I Can Feel It” is a response to Sylvia Plath’s poem “Lady Lazarus,” and “Too Too Sullied Flesh” integrates Hamlet’s feeling of disillusionment with my own feeling of uncertainty. When I read Hamlet, I was drawn to his acting and how he couldn’t find a balance between truthful emotions and fake feelings. Hamlet’s inability to convey his feelings accurately connects to the insecurities that I have as a high schooler. I constantly feel like I don't know who to be in social situations, whether I should be outgoing or just sit back. I empathize with how Hamlet’s overthinking leads him not to act, while not thinking causes him to overact. High school is all about finding a balance, so I connected Hamlet’s experience of finding a balance to my own. The song starts with the line “Take a look at yourself sweetheart, is this really who you want to be?” This line encapsulates the entire tone of my song and the uncertainty that I felt in my own skin. The chords and the melody are soft to create a stark contrast with the seriousness of the lyrics. The chorus is the build up of the song, and each verse uncovers a different feeling. The second verse is about cowardice, while the fourth verse is about oblivion. Each of these verses combines to represent the overall feeling of uncertainty. As I built up my collection of compositions and finally acknowledged that I was good at songwriting, I decided to present my music to other people by creating an album, and now by exhibiting my sheet music in a culminating passion project. Envisioning the final collection of passion projects, I knew I didn’t want my work to get muddled, but instead to stand out as something unique. My

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