After 23 years of quiet existence, I am finally being heard.

Armed with nothing but a cheap guitar and a modest voice, I have finally summoned up the courage to take the stage. With a handful of songs, direct results of the painful processes of life and love, I stand before unforgiving crowds, fully understanding that every line sung exposes little by little a part of me which up until now had remained safely tucked away in privacy.

And yet, with every line sung, I look up and I see their faces and I realize that they understand. They take in my words and melody and make them their own. They recognize the emotions, the feelings which I used to think were unique to me. Now I understand, through the connection and bond formed with my unforgiving audience, that we are more similar than we are different. Songwriting, perhaps the most difficult venture I have ever undertaken, has become the most fulfilling.

After 23 years of quiet existence, I am finally being heard