Writing My Own Future

MIHEC Student Profile: Alisa Barnett

I started writing music when I was nine years old. I think my first song was about snowfall. My first real performance was when I was 10. I sang the national anthem a cappella at a talent show for people with and without disabilities at Hell’s Kitchen downtown. I was really good, so I realized I wanted to keep going with it and make it my own, and I blossomed from there. I want to make writing and performing music my career, traveling the world with my guitar as a singer/songwriter. I’d love to be on America’s Got Talent one day. But first, I need to go to college to get a degree in music so I can learn how to put more depth into my writing and make it more sophisticated. My music style isn’t very traditional, but I like being non-traditional. I like to be different from other people.

Writing is my life. I can’t live without it. I like lots of creative arts, but words are deeply important to me. I started writing poetry in my high school creative writing class. I’ve got some poems that are inspirational or cheerful and some that help me work through strong emotions like anger. It’s a way for me to express myself and find freedom—emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. I’ve written over a thousand poems, and I’ve turned some of them into song lyrics as well. The ones that really speak to me get turned into lyrics. My friends and staff love my writing and music, too. They all want CDs and albums of my music. Once, I wrote a song for one of my friends because she was nervous, and I wanted to help her calm down. I told her through my lyrics that she’s always been there for me, and she just melted. She loved it.

I’m focused, and that’s how I’ll need to be in college. I’m ready for it. I’ve moved in with a roommate already and learned how to cook and shop for groceries and things like that. I also got work experience through the transition program by working at Goodwill and a memory care facility. I’m reliable and always on time, and I was mostly the helper in this program because I already had the skills they were trying to teach. I want to go to college so I can keep building new skills for my music career, like taking writing classes. Maybe I’d also take a business class to learn how to market myself better. I want to have fun in college, too, like finding people to play card games with, but I’m devoted to my work, so my music and writing will be my main focus.