2014, Here I come!

When New Year’s Resolutions began popping up on my news feed several days ago, I thought about chiming in. However, after a couple of near posts, I decided to actually wait until the new year to decide on my resolutions. In all reality, I needed a little more time to reflect on 2013.

I was finally able to actually say hello to Jake at the NYE Show at
Brothers Bar in Bloomington. He performs "Longshot At Best", a
song I co-wrote with Aaron Layton.

I’m not going to lie, 2013 was a roller coaster ride. I dealt with the highs of landing a perfect job, spending time with good friends, eating at the Loveless Café (Not a big deal for some. But that’s one of my favorite restaurants), visiting my family in Illinois and standing in the front row at a Montgomery Gentry concert. Man those boys put on a show! 

2013 was also a big year in my songwriting career. I was able to record a demo on music row, which was awesome. Dale Guthery at The Sound Office was so patient and helpful. I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a singer, so it was probably one of his least pleasant sessions of the year. But I still had a blast! Earlier this year, for the first time ever, I heard a song that I co-wrote with Layton James on the radio.  Words cannot express how exciting that was for me. I also found out that an up and coming local band, Jake Dodds & Stagecoach Revolver, had decided to perform a song I co-wrote. They won the 97.1 Hank FM Battle of the Bands in 2013, and had a great year, opening for artists such as Luke Bryan, Lee Brice, Chris Cagle and Dustin Lynch. They are an amazing band. I'm not just saying that because they perform a song that I wrote. I'm saying that because they freaking rock. I've been to their last two shows and plan to go to the next one due to the simple fact that they are fun to watch, and they play a great mix of dancing tunes. Everybody knows that I love to dance! And not only do they perform Longshot At Best, they knock it out of the park! It gets me all fired up! I know, none of this is a big deal to other writers, but to me it is! When I started writing in middle school, I never imagined that I would stand in a crowd one day while everyone is dancing at something I co-wrote. I never thought I'd be able turn on the radio and say "Hey, that's my song!!". 

As I stood with some friends at a local bar and joined in on the countdown, I realized that, in the end, the good outweighed the bad, and I closed the book on 2013 with a smile on my face. I’ve built more bridges than I’ve burned, and I am more determined than ever!

In 2014, my goals are simple. The first is to become a better writer. I will work every day to write that line that hasn’t been written yet. I’ll search for that perfect hook. I’ll learn how to mold a mess of a concept into a masterpiece. Well, maybe masterpiece is pushing it…but I think I’m capable of producing something that’s a little more than a pile of mush.  I want to meet with other writers and learn from their experience, and I’d love to take guitar lessons, so my playing isn’t so limited. I want to continue this 100-song challenge, and maybe even complete it. Don't worry, when I pass that 100 song mark, I will find something else to blog about!

My other goal is to just be happy. For the past year and a half, I have focused all my energy on someone else. I set aside my wants and desires, in order to fit my life into someone else’s world. Well this year, I want to find myself again. Who am I?  I am a small town girl who loves country music, horseback riding, going out and cutting loose, playing dorky games, watching stupid movies and driving way too fast. That’s me, take it or leave it!