Thoughts on teenagers.
Living the dream in Burlington, Vermont.
I don’t have anything bad to say about last week.
I don’t!
Sometimes, when I travel for work and it’s fun, I feel like [confessional time] I have to find decidedly un-fun things about it because it’s work, and I feel guilty over leaving Brandon to hold down the fort while I do fun things. Usually, the fort is full of illness, dinner complaints, multiple sports games, etc.
Comparative suffering is built into my DNA and it’s something I have to very consciously and actively fight against. “You’re having it hard so I need to remind you that I’m having it hard, too!” (This is not a fun person to be around.)
Sometimes I think that my brain invents hard things to suppress the guilt that I feel for having “good things,” while other times I think it’s a symptom of foreboding joy.
In any case, I didn’t have that last week. From Tuesday to Saturday, I hung out in Burlington, Vermont, with a group of teenagers who auditioned to be in Vermont’s All-State “Modern Band” (rock band) and perform at a concert. For three days, we rehearsed, talked about music, figured out vocal harmonies, locked in rhythm section grooves, and discussed what it means to be part of a professional group. We performed at a local elementary school and spent 12+ hours a day prepping for the culminating performance on Friday night.
The days were long and I forgot to eat at times, but I felt so much joy. I couldn’t say a negative thing about my experience because I was having so, so much fun.
When Brandon texted to ask how it was going, I told him that I felt like I was experiencing all of the best parts of being a high school teacher. For the past two years, I’ve missed so many things about the classroom, even though I’ve never once regretted my decision.
Guys, these teenagers!
They were so good at their instruments. They played and sang with so much heart. Some of them were self-taught during COVID when they had a loss of connection and purpose. Instead of playing video games, they learned how to play the drums via the Police and studied ways to shred on the guitar.
They inspired me. I wanted to go home and practice and write better songs and use my voice more confidently.
When we lined up before the concert on Friday, I tried to give them a pump-up speech and got emotional.
I told them that music can save lives, that they were brave for putting themselves out there, and that there would be young kids in the audience who would become musicians because of them. That their work matters.
With so much upheaval politically and all sorts of things to complain about, I want to capture this week where I was able to stand in the center of joy and have the wherewithal to recognize it in the moment. To be present.
I’m grateful for:
the gift of music
Brian, the All-State coordinator who poured his time, energy, and joy into making this group happen, and who taught me so much about teaching
teenagers and their wild, messy energy
a family who supports my work and makes me feel loved when I’m home and away
a husband who found the perfect bike for me so I could achieve my dream of a family Mother’s Day bike ride
the opportunity to work with kids
last week
today
tomorrow
Inspiration
🎧 If you want to hear the songs that the band played last week, check out this playlist that the coordinator put together. The students performed all 8 (not easy!) songs that they self-selected and we whittled down from an initial list of 70 songs. It was epic.
🎧 I read The Rachel Incident while in Vermont and I loved all of the character descriptions so much. It’s our book club pick of the month, and I’m curious to hear everyone else’s thoughts.
Creative
🌟 Query update! I’ve received numerous questions about my publishing journey, and I thought I’d provide some updates. So far, I’ve completed two batches of queries for a total of 31 query letters. I’ve received 14 rejections (all using standard forms with no specific feedback), 4 full manuscript requests (!!), and the rest have yet to respond.
Apparently, it can take a few months to hear back from a full manuscript request, so I plan to do another batch of 10-15 queries this week. I also went through my manuscript and made a playlist that includes every musical reference mentioned in the book. It’s so weird. I’ve sent it along to the agents who requested a full so they have an immersive reading experience.
🌟 Now that my college semester is winding down and our publishing season for F-flat is changing, I’m committing to making music and finishing my solo EP over the next couple of months. I need to document this here for accountability purposes. Please ask me how it’s going regularly so I actually do it!
Thanks for subscribing and reading. I hope you get to hang out with some cool kids.
Connect with my work elsewhere:
🎧 listen to my podcast with Kimberly McGlonn
💻 order my children’s book, Rosie Rocks!
📚 visit my fair-pay publishing company, F-flat Books.
🎤 get songwriting support through Songwriting for M.E.