3 years.

It just hit me that today marks the 3-year-anniversary of my first day in LA.  It's crazy to think that all this time has already passed. Where do I even begin reminiscing or recapping on all the incredible, surprising, overwhelming, life-changing things that have come to pass?

Before I moved to LA, I was a little more naive - swallowed by unsatisfied hunger and insatiable curiosity, but only because I hadn't yet crossed waters I wanted to tread. I was 25 then, but in my memory, I seem so much younger.  This day 3 years ago was the end of a month-long journey across the U.S.  I had seen so much of this country that I hadn't seen before - I'd grown so much as a musician while exploring Nashville and touring Texas, and had learned just how much of this world I'd been missing.  Despite many travels out of the country in earlier years, the U.S. had never seemed like a wide open expanse until I took that trip.

When comparing my life now to life then, it all seems to have shifted in a whirlwind. I am sorry to use so many cliches, but I guess I'm at a loss for words.  I could tell you about all the things that have happened since moving here - the songwriting, the albums, the touring, the contacts, the new friends, the chance encounters, the side projects - but in truth, it's the more subtle things that give me pause. The way I approach my career as well as other people; the way I've learned to manage my time; how I discovered my love for teaching music; my incremental-then-exponential vocal growth and comfort onstage. Then there's the difficult stuff: how jaded I can be after being exposed to the "industry;" learning that there are still ways for me to feel insecure, if I do not learn to manage my mind; realizing the challenges that are always present in this field.  But it gives me hope that despite the hardships, I'm still in the game, still hungry to create, hungry to continue this love for music.  I'm in a different chapter now - with shows behind me, I'm looking towards more writing - but I am so thankful for the last year and a half since Kickstarting "World Go Blue," recording it, and then touring and promoting it here and abroad. I've learned so much, and have been given so many more opportunities via placements, endorsements, and much more. I can't wait to see what comes next.

Pictures from the day I left NJ: 2.20.11