I haven’t been on hiatus. Instead, I spent the past 6 months on an introspective, of sorts, and a very personal experiment. It’s allowed me to remove my rosy-colored perceptions of the world, and to see for myself first-hand just how society and the pervasive nature of negative media has in general caused us to almost autonomously practice prejudice, stereotyping, and typecasting on a daily basis.

I’ve always approached the topic of love that it should always be unconditional. It might be because I am innocent and don’t know otherwise. Sure, people will always have their flaws. But to judge someone based on preconceived notions of “how they might be” because of their religion, creed, ethnicity, or even experience, is quite possibly one of the worst imaginable things you can do to someone. I strongly and respectfully disagree that it’s about “choice”. It’s impossible to know just what a person is like by stereotyping them right out the gate.

The world isn’t all peaches and cream. Everything is not sunny, warm, and happy. I’ve learned that the world is much crueler than I could have ever imagined. It’s one thing for human nature to fear things that he/she can’t control, but it’s quite another to have conditions superimposed on you from the beginning. It becomes an insurmountable hill to climb. So you end up trying, failing, and starting over, only to experience the same thing, the next sometimes being varying degrees of worse than the last. And it’s a vicious cycle that seems never-ending. It can have quite a detriment to one’s psyche.

I’ve become one of those who have experienced first hand how so many people feel left out, hopeless, with no emotional support, and with no recourse. For me, music is my recourse. It is the one thing that allows me to express my anguish and provides me with a respite. It allows me to speak collectively about my experiences. It is how something beautiful can come from so much hurt. Perhaps those who have dealt it will come to realize and change their ways after listening? Probably not. But let my music serve as an anthem to those who have no other recourse. We hope things will get better for us all. And most importantly, never give up. What is life without hope? So keep on hoping: hoping to win, and hoping to be successful in all endeavors.