UO Short Stories: Simone
We meet up with four inspiring creatives in New York City to discuss career journeys, when they feel the most fulfilled and the evolution of their styles. Meet Eva, Imani, Simone and Lauren: these are their Short Stories.
"My parents have been playing music for me in the house for my whole life. They're both in the music industry, so I've always been into music. I've been singing since I can remember, but I've recently started making music. About two years ago, I started taking a production class and I've just been teaching myself. I'm usually inspired to write a song when I'm feeling very emotional about something. It could either be super happy or super angry or sad. Heartbreak is definitely something that inspires me. Usually when I'm alone, like walking somewhere, maybe to school or to meet my friends and I'm just not on my phone or listening to any music, that's when ideas come to me."
"My favorite thing about the city is how culturally diverse it is and how you can basically do anything you want. You don't have to drive places. You can take the subway, you can take a bus, you can skate, you can bike places. There's any type of food that you'd want. I really love hanging out with my friends in parks and on the street. There's just something interesting you can find on any block of the city. A lot of my friends in the city are producers and songwriters, and just being in a culture of creatives definitely helps me with my music. It's really nice to be in the community of such creative people."
"When I'm getting dressed in the morning, my style really depends on my mood. Oftentimes, I'll pick a character to be for the day and then I'll just open my closet, stare at all of my clothes and something randomly calls to me. Then I just choose the rest of my outfit based off of that character and that one piece that I chose. If I want to seem bubbly, maybe I'll wear brighter colors or a skirt or some nice heels, or if I want to seem cool, maybe I'll wear some baggy jeans, or if I'm going to the skate park, that will obviously affect it. But then sometimes I'll be going out to dinner with my friends and I just want to seem super extra. It just depends on the mood. Sometimes when I'm feeling sad or angsty, I'll wear a lot of black and have a more punk look."
"Recently I've been working on an EP, which I plan to release mid-June. It's actually for my senior project, but I'm planning on releasing it to the rest of the world as well. I'm really excited about that. I've worked with a few new people and I'm feeling pretty good about it. Music is one of the places where I'm the most confident. As a shy person, people are sometimes surprised when I'm not nervous to perform in front of a lot of people or release my music, but honestly, that's the part of me that I'm most confident in."