I’ve been singing my whole life and come from generations of musicians. Creating music is kind of stressful, but is also really fun, because I get to experiment with different sounds. I’m currently working on my EP [extended play record] with my best friend who is majoring in Music Production at Ohlone.

The genre of my EP is artpop, which is similar to pop but different in that it’s a mix of everything and is not restricted to a specific genre. The songs within my EP reflect and deal with topics the of suicide, depression, and mental illness. The name of my EP comes from the main character of the book “All the Bright Places,” which also deals with themes of mental illness,  whose name is Violet, which evolved into “Ultraviolet.” “Ultraviolet” adds another layer of meaning because it’s spectrum of light that can’t be seen with the naked eye just as someone’s mental illness is not immediately obvious.

Only one of my songs has a name so far, and the title is “Daisies.” The song about watching the person you love go through an abusive relationship without being able to do anything and is inspired by my experiences during my freshmen year. During that time, another friend of mine compared someone I loved, who was in an abusive relationship, to “daisies” because they were innocent and easy to take advantage of.

I make music because I love it and it’s fun; this EP has allowed me to work with one of my closest friends and write songs on topics I’m passionate about. However, the EP is currently on hold because of technical difficulties with the studio. My friend no longer works there and I don’t have the money to pay the full fee of 150 dollars an hour to record. All the songs have been written but just haven’t been recorded yet. “Daisies” was almost finished. It was in the middle of being mixed and mastered, but that process was halted after we lost access to a professional studio.

I have met with two other music producers, one in LA and one in Redwood City. Scott has been collecting a lot of instruments and things that could help us get past this, because right now, we are both young. I just started my job, and he doesn’t make money, so we don’t have the time or money to be spending 150 dollars an hour at a studio.

Hopefully I can pursue music full-time, although lately I’ve been looking at other options too. But creating music has always been what I’ve wanted to do.