NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — I'm someone who loves telling a story beyond what appears to be on the surface.
I think we can all relate to someone else's story. Not only can we learn from another person's experience, but their story can uplift and even inspire us.
That's what I found at the Songwriter's Sanctuary in Joelton. About 25 minutes from Music City, nature nurtures the soul.
"I missed it so much," said Meghann Robinson, one of the writers attending the free one-day event.
"It just starts with meeting people and writing songs," said Kylee Stone, one of the organizers. "It's as simple as that."
Songwriting, though, isn't so simple.
"I was pretty hard on myself the whole way through," Robinson said.
Songwriters from all over spent part of the day at Hachland Hill in Joelton for the Songwriter's Retreat. It's something organizers are hoping to host every quarter.
"Just really living the dream," Stone said. "The Nashville dream."
Writers sit in small groups and go through every element of the songwriting process — the music, the lyrics — you name it.
"Music was the one thing I could remember that made me happy," Robinson said. "The song we're writing today starts with a line I wrote about giving up music. And then coming back to it. And the advice I would give to someone in my shoes. Turning 30. Wondering what they're going to be."
Robinson hadn't written a song in more than a dozen years. She gave up music and became a veterinarian — a job she loves. This year, though, she began to write again.
"I have ideas all over my phone," she said. "I have lyrics and little tidbits that I pull from everywhere, and that's what lets me know I'm still a songwriter."
Robinson reminds us — this is about pursuing dreams and returning back to them.
"I do wonder what would have happened if I believed in myself enough and kept going with music," she said. "And following my passion as an artist. And I wouldn't take it back. I also wouldn't have given it up again."
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
