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YOUTHMIX
humble egi ings
by JAZZY CADIENTE
ey had told me all about how the arts were en- I personally felt the growth in myself, and I became hanced and embraced there, and how it’d be a perfect proud of it, and I’m thankful my peers saw it in the
me as of late.
But the key to all this is that I never take anything for granted, ever. Yes, I had gotten a start in the business very early on in my life, but I am beyond grateful that
I have opportunities to showcase my talents to the city I grew up in almost every single month ever since my rst professional live performance 10 years ago. Grate- ful for the connections that bring me to these venues to share and express the love I have for my art, and very blessed for every experience passed my way. My drive continued as I transcended into high school and I wanted to be involved with anything that could help me better myself, and even then, that drive led me to have met some amazing artists and creatives who I can now call friends of mine.
One of my favorite artists by the name of Rafael Casal recently said, “How do you get the chanting crowd sound on a song to feel energetic and organic? You
ask everyone to lend a hand, and that is also how truly great music is made - beautiful, ego-less collabora- tion between artists willing to tap into their vulner- ability and feel our love for music and the life it tries
to articulate, together. ese are the moments I live
for - to have the art we make change the very fabric
of who I am for the better.” As I continue to grow and shi into what makes me feel the most bene cial to me and my energy, I am still always nding reasons why it is that I came to LVA, or even why I was drawn to the particular passions that I am now honing in on. And as my views on some of my passions shi s and I start to realize what I want my career and future to consist of, both post education and beyond, all I can do now
is to live in the present and carry on. To interact in the best matter within every situation. To take everything as it comes. Everything happens for a reason, and I’m excited to see where writing these articles can do,
t for me. So when the time came for me to audition for LVA, I started prepping 4 months prior to it, and low and behold, I had found out about my acceptance through my mom pulling me out of school to tell me, and I was beyond ecstatic! ough, halfway through my freshman year, I had suddenly realized that maybe singing in a choir wasn’t of my forte. It was through watching the showcases and cabarets that my friends were in that I truly connected with that level of singing and acting in the place where these two could meet in the middle. So, when the time came around for audi- tions for switching majors, I jumped the gun, and I, fortunately, got accepted into the theatre program.
As time progressed, I started to grow immensely with the amount of work I put in, but as with everything, it didn’t come easy. Although it took almost a whole year,
end too. I wanted to meet other individuals like me so that I could understand what being “di erent” meant. It wasn’t up until this year did I only realize what it meant to me personally. As I grew older, I started to see how much my art really was a di erent kind from everyone that I knew. It’s strange but true. ere are many kids who have started the same way that I had, but it seemed to turn out di erent for me. By the end of my sophomore year, I had begun the steps that, personally, would aid me in the near future -- I had re- leased my rst original body of work that I was proud of. “Illusions” was the name of the EP, written by my best friend of 8 years, Joey Miceli, and I, which is
now available on all music streaming platforms. I had gotten more radio interviews, and more performance gigs, to which some have actually been paying
g 2019