General Session: From Mess to Message: Advocating for Change through Songwriting and Embracing Your Superpowers

Transform your personal challenges into powerful messages for social change. Through embracing your story and recognizing the power of your voice, Emma G will help us explore advocacy in anti-racism, community diversity, and disability health. Learn to reframe disempowering labels into superpowers and use your voice to inspire. This session includes a reflective exercise to connect with your calling and create personal messages of encouragement, ending with a live performance of your words as songs of advocacy.

Emma G

Notes:

Music activity: What kind of superhero are you?

• What special skill do you have that makes you a superhero?
  • Empathy? Love? Community? Technology?

Emma G’s background

• Multicultural background.
• Diagnosed with Hydrocephalus and had 24 surgeries to date.
• Experienced adversity, bullying, racism, abuse, depression, suicidality, trauma.

Songwriting

• Emma used it as a tool to understand herself.
  • “Hush Away” performance
• Songwriting was also used as a tool for Emma to express herself during her adolescence.
• As a pre-teenager, songwriting was a tool for empathy and connection.
  • “Look Around” performance
• “Music is a tool for communication, self-expression, self-advocacy, and to advocate for other people.” – Emma G.

Accomplishments

• New Zealander of the Year Local Heroes Award.
• Her band’s album came 11^th in the NZ Top 20^th
• Came in 6^th at New Zealand’s X Factor.

Move to the U.S.

• Was going to move to NYC but her car broke down in Rockville, Maryland. She now lives in the DMV area.
• She learned the following:
  • The kindness of people – if you empower them
  • The ugly of people – if you let them
  • The eagerness of everyone to feel seen, heard, and validated
  • The lengths hurt people will go to hurt people
  • The oblivion many people have when it comes to the experiences of others
• Emma realized that music was a powerful tool for advocacy, story-telling, connection, and healing.
• Instead of chasing what she thought was a worthy goal, she decided to recognize that:
  • My mess is my message
  • My struggles are my song
  • My pain gives me purpose
  • My music has a message
• “My advocacy isn’t about me, it’s about the community.”

Key Messages:

• In adversity, our superpowers are developed. We are all superheroes.
  • “Superhero” performance
• When we embrace our adversity, we start to recognize the power of diversity.
  • “Together We Rise” performance
• Don’t let the world write your song. It’s very easy to get kicked down when you advocate for your community. It’s very easy to question yourself: “Am I strong enough to do this? To continue?”
  • “Miss Me With That” performance
• Emma has written songs about surviving abuse, healing from loss, understanding racism and bigotry, and cognitive reframing.
• “I see life as an album. A collection of albums actually.” – Emma G.

Songwriting Activity:

• Close your eyes
• Write down your morals, values, and priorities
• Moment of adversity
• Superpowers
• Your calling

Our Mess is Your Message

• Be kind to yourself: this is a judgment-free zone
• Keep it simple, songwriter
• Vulnerability is a superpower
• Look back at your younger self, your morals, values, and priorities. All leading to the person you are today – doing what you’re doing and living your purpose.
• Consider the following:
  • Where did those morals and values come from?
  • What helped shape your priorities?
  • When you first experienced that adverse experience, what did you learn about yourself and the world around you?
  • Looking back: what advice would you give yourself to help you understand and process that trauma or adversity?