Today, we bring you the last part in She Is We‘s Artist of the Week series. Full of emotion, Rachel wrote a reflection about her journey with music. Read on for arms full of goosebumps and an incredible inside look into She Is We.
—
Girl To Phoenix: A Mission To Rise
I was 15 when I touched a guitar for the first time. In my family, prayer was the medicine needed for the black sheep I was. Socially anxious but wanting so badly to connect, my guitar became my best friend.
I would cut class, go to the locker room and teach myself how to put my mind’s racing heartbeat to a melody. I would place my fingers on the neck of the guitar until the sound felt right. My father would let me stay in my room for hours at a time so I could “debrief” about whatever a teenager experiences day to day. My life became poetry in melody.
I’m 25 now and everything imagined has happened to me, but music has been my one constant. Some people like to paint, take photographs or have a glass of wine to relax. Creating beauty from chaos has always been my calling. Taking emotions that are ugly or hard to discuss and making them beautiful—it makes me feel alive. I found that I wasn’t alone and the connection continued to build. A community began to come together and it has been the most gorgeous and liberating gift I’ve ever encountered.
In my 10 years of creating music, I never believed for a moment I’d be where I am now. My coping mechanism has been my career for going on eight years now. I wasn’t supposed to make it this far. In fact, I had people banking on my failure. But I think that’s why my father has called me his phoenix. No matter how burned, broken or abandoned I’ve been, my coping mechanism of music has caused me to rise from the ashes.
I went from a 15-year-old girl with weird social habits and a guitar to a 25-year-old woman with weird social habits and a guitar. My motive has never changed. I had to earn my stripes by keeping my chin high and coping the way I know how. My career is now focused on making sure that others know that they too can use their coping mechanisms and rise.
If you missed the other two parts of She Is We’s takeover, you can find them here.
- GTK: PJ Harding - June 16, 2023
- Big Time Rush is Just Getting Started - February 13, 2023
- 2023 GRAMMYs: The Nominees - November 15, 2022
