#cross-canada

Now, my excitement has been piqued and I'm ready for this next step. In four short months, I will have graduated from my program and for the first time, I will not be fully saddled with any sort of major responsibility. I don't have school to get back to, I won't have a career to start yet, so what is there for a 22 year old college grad to do?

Travel. And travel I shall do.

I'm very excited for what's to come, because there's this healthy blend of some brand new experiences, and a nostalgic manner in what I want to do.

I have recently been taken on as an intern/freelance reporter with Music Vice Magazine, which was a dream come true, because that is truly my labour of love. Since I was young, anything and everything about music has caught me. Not only the tunes themselves, but the raw emotion behind making music, the mechanics of it, the way it makes other people feel. There's little better than getting the chance to talk to someone about something they're creating, because you get to see them light up. Ask someone about their job, paying bills, menial tasks, there is a sort of deadness in their eyes (unless they're into that sort of thing, that is). But ask someone about something they made from virtually nothing, from thin air - there is unbridled passion and excitement. And I get the opportunity to see that in who I talk to. Better yet, that's MY job. And it's my job to get the rest of the general public to see this excitement and hopefully get them excited too. Because isn't that what creation is about?

So, my major project is a blend between my job and my own personal want/need to see more.

I have grown up crossing Canada. But, finally landing in Toronto, this is the farthest east I have ever been. I want to head out to the east coast, start from there, and travel across to the west coast. While doing so, not only am I looking out for new experiences and discovering more of my country, but I want to find those little foxholes of clubs, pubs, bars, and find those musicians plugging away in these places. I want to learn about as many people as possible, and listen to as many stories as I possibly can. I want to know what it's like for an aspiring musician to make music in places no one would generally expect. Because in a place like Toronto, it's so easy to get swept up and stay here. But I want to see what there is in all these different places. Furthermore, I want to give artists the chance to really talk about their craft, what makes them passionate.

I'm turning 22, I'm graduating college, and I'm still who I was when I was 14 - just a music-loving girl, wanting to hear everyone's story and meet a couple bands.