Hearing the pounding of my own emotion-filled heart as I stand on the hard wood that puts me higher than everyone else brings many thoughts to my head. I cannot see but only feel the audience staring right through my thoughts. It is this moment before I take my first, long breath that makes me realize why I am here. ‘I am not here to prove anything to anyone but myself.’

Music is like life in a way that only a few can understand. When the trees make rustling sounds that sound harmonic or when the wind howls to match God’s soft voice, I hear music. When the children in Africa say majestic words that could easily be turned into lyrics and the homeless sing to an old hymn stuck in their head because they don’t have music outside of their souls is when I hear music. Music isn’t only for the ones who make a living off if it, but rather the ones who feel it, live it, and breathe it every day of their lives. This is something that I truly believe God has gifted me with not so much the talent, but the ability to simply feel my emotion-filled music.

When I sing, the sound is like someone or something coming through my voice to say the feelings of others. I have felt this ever since I was a little girl when I sang at church. There I was, in my little purple dress, waiting for the music to start. I wasn’t scared or nervous because every time I looked down at my mom in the front row, she said, “Sing for Jesus, Hannah. Sing for Jesus,” and that is just what I did. Because of all those precious moments and support, growing up has helped me find my voice. My voice is my thoughts and emotion that I put into my songs and lyrics. As people go through life, they try to “find their voice.” Some people will not realize why or what they are searching for, but they will always look and hope until they find it. I wrote these lyrics while sitting along a long, beautiful lake, while I pondered what life was really about: “My life. My soul. You’ll find a way to make it whole as I surrender all. Your will. Your way. There’s nothing left by my mistakes. I surrender all. I surrender all.”
Song is the only way that I feel free to express myself. When I am on stage, nothing else in the world matters than that one precious moment. I am proud of the moment that can change my life and everyone’s who is listening. Singing is a part of me and has made me who I am today. I thrive to put my whole heart into music, and sharing my gift is incredible.

Singing isn’t just all about showing the talent or becoming famous. Life is about the moments that we have when no one else is watching. When life is throwing pain at people in the world and weighs them down, that is when they have to pick themselves up and move on. Singing is about the feeling that comes when the stage lights are beaming and stares are all on me. Singing is about the deepness within my veins that reminds me who I am and gives me the ability to express my message that I might not otherwise be able to have a conversation about. Singing is about discovering who I am and my light and then shining the path to all who need it. That’s what I feel when I sing. I am a light.