Jenna Leigh Councill

Just another girl who can sing and play guitar? I don't think so. Just another hip musician? Think again. There is a lot more than what meets the surface here, much like what I have learned throughout the course of this year. First let me introduce myself. My name is Jenna Leigh. My mother picked this name because she could always see me being a famous country singer and going by this sweet little southern name. It's funny because I love to sing country music and love to play in front of others. Music has been such a huge portion of my life. Ever since I can remember, I have been singing. I have a home video of me singing, with the camera pretty much showing up my nose, and me belting out a chart topper by the one and only Hilary Duff. She just understood my 6th grade self so incredibly much. Post-Hilary Duff era, I bought a guitar, began to learn, and even wrote a few corny songs. I had this dream band which I named The Sapphires, designed t-shirts, and drew pictures of my friends and I jamming out to great songs we had written. After that awkwardness, I progressed to being on my church's worship band. Singing for my church was life-changing. Leading people in worship was by far one of the most impactful things I have ever done. Being a part of something so much bigger than me was something that made me feel as though I was truly helping others. I was the definition of a hipster on stage. I loved wearing Toms shoes, skinny jeans, and black V-necks. Behind the scenes however, I loved to scream Taylor Swift songs with my friends, play at a local music festival in my hometown, and participate in random coffee shop open mic nights. Music has definitely shaped who I am, even though I still love to dress like a hipster. Without music, I would feel completely lost. Whenever I got upset as a child, music was what calmed me down. Whenever I was happy, music made that experience even better for me. Hearing certain songs on the radio remind me of events in my life where I can connect that song with the feeling I had then and relive it in my head, even if it's only for a moment. I can distinctly remember my mom and I practically crying out Kelly Clarkson’s hit “Because of You” in the car. That was our favorite song because we could just be who we were. As we were singing that, we didn’t care about what the passer-byers thought of our crazy high pitched harmonies, or our out-of-tune voice pretending we were as good as Kelly. Nope, it was all about that moment. It