My dad was very unwell when I was growing up. He’d taken me to the doctor’s and told him I was fine but encouraged him to get himself checked out.
It was Leukaemia.
I remember so many hushed voices and tension in the house from this time while the reality of diagnosis settled in He was in and out of hospital and would pass out in the house frequently.
As a kid it was terrifying.
I’d always sang and always been musical but because I was shy I hated people hearing me , so for large parts of childhood nobody’s knew I could sing at. For quite a lot of my childhood I didn’t speak at all, with so much going on around me there seemed to be no air so my room was my place – I played my music as much as possible. In my room I was Whitney. I had thousands of CDs one for every mood.
Music became the best friend and the thing I’d return to throughout my life to find people who were having the most beautiful lives.
It wasn’t till I was married, some years later, that my husband encouraged me to go and pursue my musical dreams. It was a little tricky to find my way and I grieved the wasted years, but once I did my aim became finding as many opportunities to use my creativity as possible.
I found bands to join and choirs to perform with and a load of people who loved music just as much as I did. I’ve been fortunate enough to perform at Hull Truck and City Hall.
It was a revelation – I even got a music degree!
It was hard work, I was learning everything from scratch. Things had changed since I’d left school. I was 29 and 9 months in a class of 19 year olds. The learning curve was steep. By this time I had a child at school so was studying before breakfast, doing a school run, jumping on a bus for a full day of lessons, swinging by the child minders, cooking tea for the family, doing the bedtime routine, then sitting down for more study.
It was chaos but a good chaos. I did it and made the best friends and got to sing every day and I grew in ways I’d never expected to.
And I’m pleased to say I never stopped growing, I continued to challenge myself. I started to write my own songs and develop my social media presence. I have music out on Spotify, a YouTube channel and a website that I’ve built.
I’ve realised I enjoy taking on new projects and figuring it out. I’ve discovered parts of myself I never knew existed. With every challenge that comes along, I find out something new about myself and that keeps me striving for bigger and better things.
Now I’ve set up a Facebook community for musicians and singers who are in need of a community and support. We’re part support group, part social group. I’ve learnt so much from all sorts of people and amassed so many skills, it’s now time to pass them on to others.
The Green Room, Hull is a friendly and welcoming bunch of musicians and noisemakers who want to come together and share their knowledge and experience.
We value education, inspiration and communication to help each other fulfil their own potential.
I’d love to see every musician in Hull, in my community, all learning from each other. We aim to be a beacon to all the people who are practicing in their bedroom dreaming of success.