Ep. 24: A Star Is Born

[laughs] And that's just more material for you, right? I sometimes, I, uh, this is Joy again, I'm a, you know, love getting inspiration from, from my life for my writing, and sometimes when something really bad happens, I just think, "Oh, this will be really good material for something." [laughs] Um, instead of, you know, it, it kind of helps you get through it, and I've already heard some of that in your songs, especially the song Dear 8th Grade.

I'm curious if you can tell us a little bit about where the ideas for that song came from.

So when I was in eighth grade I was in a public school.

Uh, it was definitely an experience, to say the least.

I was treated differently than all the other kids, seeing as, you know, I couldn't see, and all my material was different, and I had a para educator that was around me 24/7, and it was, honestly, it was exhausting.

Dear 8th grade, I just wanted to say that I hate you for making me break.

You left me in flames, now I'll let nothing more to say.

Dear 8th grade, I just wanted to say that I wish you could feel the pain.

Didn't know if I would ever be okay.

Dear 8th grade.

There were good things about the school I went to.

There were also bad things.

I think that a lot of the time, I think an, an adult being around me, no matter who the adult was, 24/7 was exhausting for me as a 13-year-old because so many people my age were like, getting out of their shells and like, goofing off and like, running and, you know, just like, being kids.

And then I was like, had an adult by me, so it was like, I couldn't really do anything like that.

Sounds kind of stifling in a way.

No one talked to me that much because I had an adult by me.

There was only a few people who actually talked to me, and like, talked to me be- like, because of me.

And I started having classes without my para around, and that actually really helped.

I, one of my best friends, uh, I met in seventh grade when I was in honor choir, but then in eighth grade we really got super close and became like, best friends, and I'm super grateful for her because she like, saw me for who I was.

She didn't ever judge me.

I'm really grateful for her and that she was there.

I was treated different by kids and teachers.

I had severe anxiety in that year, and I was not really able to learn that well because of it, and so I wrote the song about that.

I left school early 'cause it was just too much, I think.

After that, it was definitely s- I had to get over it, or like, I had to process everything, and I wrote Dear 8th Grade probably like...