LOSING MY LEG DIDN’T TAKE MY ABILITY TO PLAY THE UKULELE AWAY, AND FOR THAT I AM GRATEFUL.

For as long as I can remember, I always wanted to be a rockstar. I always played around on my keyboard that my grandfather bought me. I never took any type of lessons, but I managed to learn a few songs by ear and I played them so often, I’m sure my mother was ready to throw the keyboard out of the window. I stopped playing as often with time and the keyboard became something that sat in my bedroom, collected dust, and would only get used on those rainy days when there was nothing else to do. I always wanted to have the skillset to play instruments, but I never followed through and my parents never sought out private lessons. I didn’t pursue music in high school or in college, but I always kept the love of music in the back pocket of my Levi jeans. I kept my potential talent hidden away.

I have always had a knack for singing. Learning the words to every 90’s and 2000’s song came so naturally to me and singing in the shower was inevitable. I was ALWAYS insecure about my singing, though. Singing in front of people is a very intimate thing and it was (and still sometimes is) hard to share it with anyone. Even so, that dream of singing and playing an instrument still remained in my back pocket. I’d listen to a song that made my soul dance to the rhythm and imagine myself singing it while playing an instrument in front of a crowd.

I FINALLY DUG INTO MY BACK POCKET WHILE I WAS LONELY AND DEPRESSED

I moved from Pennsylvania to Florida after I graduated and took a teaching job. I was fumbling around trying to figure out how to teach a class full of 5th graders during the day, and in my evenings I was coming home to an empty apartment. Work was filled with stress (as I’m sure every teacher can attest to the fact that their first year is HARD). I had nothing to fill my personal life other than binging out on Netflix shows. I had just moved to a new area so I didn’t have many friends. I had a few family friends who were and continue to be a support to me, but aside from seeing them every so often, I had NO social life. I was very depressed and felt extremely out of alignment with myself. I had too much time on my hands, so I decided I would do something I had always wanted to do, but neglected. I wanted to use that extra time to dig into the back pocket of my Levi Jeans and work toward my hidden dreams of making music.

I had a big-girl job, so I bought myself a ukulele after I listened to a NeverShoutNever song. I knew I wanted to eventually play guitar, but I had heard the ukulele was much easier to learn because it has only 4 strings vs. 6 strings. I had also always loved the sound of the peaceful, tropical-like instrument. I remember the sheer excitement I felt when I opened the Amazon package and saw my Kala concert ukulele and a starter booklet depicting common chords. The ukulele soon became my social life. It became my safe haven.

I set aside the time to learn how to tune the ukulele and how to play basic chords. I used YouTube to learn EVERYTHING, namely the Ukulele Teacher. It was a frustrating process because at first, my fingers would not stretch the way I needed them too. Moving from one chord to the next was a challenge. Learning how to sing and play at the same time took some extra effort and practice. I had to train my brain to do all sorts of new, challenging things and it filled up the extra space and time I had in my life.

The ukulele became my best friend. I learned how to play so many songs and started sharing short covers of myself singing on Social Media. I set myself on a path of being a musician by remembering my dreams and ambitions of pursuing music, examined that dream, and figured out what I needed to do to make it happen. Using my time to learn something I always wanted to brought so much joy into my life.

After some time, my grandmother’s best friend bought me a guitar from a second-hand shop and I started the challenge of learning guitar. I still have so much to learn and I am only a three chord strummer, but I am proud of how far I have come.

When you’re lonely and have extra time, figure out what dreams you put in the back pocket of your jeans. Take that dream out and examine it. Figure out what steps you need to take in order to make that dream a reality. Whatever your dream may be, whether it’s becoming a motivational speaker, an entrepreneur, an amazing teacher, a skateboarder, a musician, etc, you have to start somewhere. Start small and go for it! It takes practice and precision, but with time and effort, you will make huge strides toward your goal.

My next music goal is to get a gig and sing in a band with a few really cool, like-minded musicians. Eventually, once I am walking again, I will do my very best to make this goal come to fruition. Let’s work on our goals together!

The crazy thing about learning the ukulele is it reiterated how attainable goals can be. The ukulele became my best friend when I felt I had none.