Sophomore Gracie Collins enjoys writing songs in her free time. Collins has been interested in music since she was young, and her mom inspired her to take the next step to begin writing music.
“[My mom] was in a band, writes songs, sings and plays instruments,” said Collins.
After learning music from her mom, Collins fell in love with it. She enjoys both music and songwriting because of how many possibilities there are.
“You can turn whatever you’re thinking in your mind into a song. I love to be able to get my point of view across with my music,” said Collins.
Collins has written six original songs but has others she either has not finished or doesn’t like. Collins has performed one original song as well as covers. Her favorite songs to cover are “Riptide” by Vance Joy and “Smells like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana. She was nervous to perform for the first time, but she enjoyed the experience. Collins first performed at Paoli Fest in 2018.
“My favorite thing about performing my songs is everything. I don’t have a least favorite thing about performing, but the first time you perform is very nerve-racking,” said Collins.
All of her songs include some kind of instrument. She first taught herself how to play the guitar, but she can now play the guitar, ukulele and some piano. She looks to her mom for advice on songwriting, and she looks to bands for inspiration.
“The bands that inspire me the most are basically punk rock bands; they just have so many thoughts and feelings that are put into their songs, which I try to do with my own songs,” said Collins.
Collins’s advice for someone who wants to get into songwriting is to persevere, even if it gets frustrating or seems hopeless. Collins thinks everyone can connect and fall in love with music just as she did.
“There are no rules with music, you can do whatever you want with it, and no one can tell you it is wrong. I connect with it, and there isn’t much more I feel as connected with as I do with music,” said Collins.
Story by Faith Wilder