Getting Creative Once More

 I've been really enjoying getting artistic on YouTube lately. I have always wanted to be able to sing. Growing up listening to Judy Garland, and then Evanescence, the bar was set extremely high in terms of what I thought was "talent". It's funny, because I used to teach dance. I used to perform on stage. I also taught Public Speaking in graduate school. Put me in a costume with learned choreography and I will run onto that stage. But, the thought of singing makes me so nervous. All I hear is my own voice. I am trying my best to be objective about it so I can put myself out there. Making these recent YouTube videos is similar to those dance recitals I used to do every June and December. And since it is not live, I can be as nervous as I need to when I click "publish video". Even if my hands and voice get shaky, it doesn't effect the pre-recorded song. 

Here is my cover of the Edith Piaf song, La Vie En Rose. 

I have worked hard over the years to learn French and Farsi. The first thing I did to start to learn French before I could take it in school was find a French version of the song "Bonjour" from Beauty and the Beast. I would listen to it, and learn the words by ear. Then, knowing the English version so well already, I would translate the lyrics to figure out some vocabulary words. This was when the internet was still a baby, so what I could have done then as a kid with a computer vs. what kids can to today is not even close. I still don't know how I managed to get a copy of that song in French. There was literally nothing online back then. This was before YouTube existed, or anything like it. Hmmm.. maybe I will record the French version of "Bonjour" at some pointe. Don't hate me, Emma Watson! (me, with like 20 views on my video lol) I think learning to speak multiple languages has really helped me to tune my voice. I trained extensively at listening to sounds and imitating them to sound closer to "native". I have become sort of like a parrot. 

Here is my cover of the Farsi song by Sogand, Salam. 

There are a few more songs I have been thinking about covering. I want to get a better microphone - not the microphone on my headset - so I don't sound so much like an amateur. I also have some vlog type videos I want to record. I know I started out talking about mindfulness, but if I were to only do that, it wouldn't work for me. I love to perform, and I get to do that through this platform. I don't want to stop! I have a few projects going on simultaneously, and I am so excited to see them flourish. I am working on artistic endeavors on YouTube, blogging my process right here, and GIS work that has me happily sucked into the computer for ten hours at a time. I am also moving along the interview process for some full time GIS work, so hopefully that will come to fruition very soon! Right now, my projects are fueling my soul, but not much to fuel my bank account, so I do really need this full time position. 

I am very excited to see where this will take me. Between putting my artistic creativity on YouTube, and my analytical creativity into a GIS startup, I think good things are going to come of them both. I think I will be in a very different place a year from now with both of these projects. 

I focused on my artistic venture in this blog post, but it is already getting to be a bit long. So, I will update you on the GIS startup hopefully in the next post!

If you would like to contribute to my blogging or my YouTube, I would be so grateful for anything you could give. This would help me purchase a condenser microphone (about $40 on Amazon) to record with better sound quality. If you would like to donate, you can do this through "BuyMeACoffee".  

Thank you SO much for reading my words. Your support means so much to me. It's early days yet, but I honestly think good things are finally coming! 

Mindfully,
~Amanda

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Amanda Vander Kelen, MA is a geographer/GIS Specialist and now blogger. She creates a work/life balance by using her creativity in both making maps and writing blogs. Taking a mindful approach to life, she hopes you can utilize her writing to help create a peaceful space of your own.
To show support for this blog, would you consider donating? Donate here.

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