tag:sarahalenamusic.com,2005:/blogs/sarah-s-thoughtsSarah's Thoughts2021-02-01T11:46:06-05:00Sarah Alenafalsetag:sarahalenamusic.com,2005:Post/65362972021-02-01T11:46:06-05:002021-02-01T11:47:11-05:00Ottawa city councillor releases sea shanty to help boost spirits amid pandemic<p><a contents="https://ottawa.citynews.ca/local-news/ottawa-city-councillor-releases-sea-shanty-to-help-boost-spirits-amid-pandemic-3311010" data-link-label="" data-link-type="url" href="https://ottawa.citynews.ca/local-news/ottawa-city-councillor-releases-sea-shanty-to-help-boost-spirits-amid-pandemic-3311010">https://ottawa.citynews.ca/local-news/ottawa-city-councillor-releases-sea-shanty-to-help-boost-spirits-amid-pandemic-3311010</a></p>
<p>An Ottawa city councillor is getting in on a recent online trend by releasing his own sea shanty, as a means to help boost spirits amid the pandemic. </p>
<p>Orléans Ward representative Matthew Luloff, his band Hearts & Mines, along with special guests Stacy DuBois, Steffany Venneri and Sarah Alena covered a traditional sea shanty from the 1860's.</p>
<p>The councillor feels residents are currently recycling grief when setbacks related to the pandemic occur. </p>
<p>"I think, in the very beginning, I found the extra time to really work hard at my priorities was helpful, but after a while you really start to miss that human connection," Luloff explains. </p>
<p>He adds, he has always used music as a coping mechanism, including during his military service overseas. </p>
<p>"When I deployed overseas in 2008, I kept a journal and I wrote songs in it," the councillor says. "When I came back home at the end of 2008, and released from the military with PTSD in 2009, I went back and looked at those lyrics I wrote, and started writing the music to them." </p>
<p>Luloff is also encouraging people to carve time for themselves for the benefit of their mental health, as he says it can eat them up without it.</p>Sarah Alenatag:sarahalenamusic.com,2005:Post/47343712017-06-05T17:55:23-04:002017-06-05T17:55:23-04:00Performing live at the CHEO Telethon<p>I began this incredible journey at 15 when I wrote <em>House of Cards</em> in my bedroom. I was struggling with my declining health, but had a small amount of hope still left. A small amount that I knew I needed to share. <em>House of Cards</em> is my story in 4 minutes. It depicts each stage of my recovery, from before, to during, to after.</p>
<p>This song has lived a thousand lives. It's been torn apart, rewritten, recorded with different instruments, had different melody lines, different point of views, and more. We only really cracked the code on a March afternoon when creativity seemed to be floating through the room. It was in that moment when I knew I wanted to give this song to CHEO (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario)</p>
<p>I wanted to give this song to the extremely hard working doctors, nurses, medical students, and hospital staff that treated me during my many stays. I actually turned 16 in the epilepsy monitoring unit at CHEO. This song is my thank you. I would be living a very different life without the help of so many people at that hospital.</p>
<p>And it is my pleasure and gratitude to announce that I will be performing <em>House of Cards</em> live June 11, 2017 on the CHEO Telethon! I'm so excited and honoured to be playing for such a beautiful cause! Be sure to tune into CTV Ottawa to watch my performance!</p>
<p>https://www.facebook.com/events/404621086591219/</p>
<p>https://www.facebook.com/CHEOkids/</p>Sarah Alenatag:sarahalenamusic.com,2005:Post/46612842017-04-06T19:31:53-04:002020-09-23T04:01:56-04:00April 7, 2017 - Why I Write Music<p>Your art <br>is not about how many people <br>like your work <br>Your art <br>is about <br>if your heart likes your work <br>if your soul likes your work <br>it's about how honest <br>you are with yourself <br>and you <br>must never trade honesty <br>for relatability <br>- Rupi Kaur<br>• <br>As a writer myself, I think it's really easy to feel like you have to write about things that people are telling you to write about. But I don't write music to be popular or relatable. I write music to fix my soul. To give my mind a rest. I write music for myself first. <br>But in that process, if I convince someone to stay alive for another day or to face their demons, my job is complete. Nothing feeds my soul more like hearing your stories of how I helped you hold on a little longer. <br>So if one of my songs gets on the radio, awesome. But that's not why I do this. I do this to mend souls and heal minds. Please don't ever forget that.<br><br>Sarah</p>Sarah Alenatag:sarahalenamusic.com,2005:Post/46612732017-04-04T19:35:00-04:002020-10-07T01:25:53-04:00April 4, 2017 - Thoughts on Perfectionism Online<p>I want you to know that I am not the smiling girl you see in this photo. I am a mess of a person just trying to get through the next hour. The next minute. The next second. </p>
<p>I'm sure this comes as a surprise to many of you because if you've met me recently, you would say I'm in the healthiest mindset I've ever been in. <br>But that's just a persona I'm putting on. The real me is tucked away for the very small amount of people I let in. </p>
<p>But I want you to know that I am far from perfect. I am a human being that has good and bad days. And to be completely honest, there have been more bad than good days recently. I have mental meltdowns every other day and I battle every minute with OCD. Yesterday, I sat on my bathroom floor crying because I couldn't get a ring off of my finger. An hour later I became so angry with a personal situation that I slammed my hands down on my kitchen table over and over to release some of the inner demons that were eating me alive. </p>
<p>Because we live in an online world, it's so easy to fall into the mindset that everyone has their shit together and you're the odd one out. But I'm here today to tell you that you're going to be okay, and every single person has an Instagram life, and a real life. Don't buy in to the pretty girls with flowers in their hair. Look for the girls that wake up every morning and fight. Everyone has a battle. So stop scrolling through their aesthetic and search for the real person. </p>
<p>I encourage you to start posting about how you ACTUALLY feel. Post that you had a shitty day. Post that you felt frustrated over a bunch of tiny things. Let's stop setting unrealistic expectations for mental health and become human again! </p>
<p>I am not perfect. So please do not ever think that I am. </p>
<p>Sarah</p>Sarah Alenatag:sarahalenamusic.com,2005:Post/46612822017-03-07T19:25:00-05:002020-01-24T18:50:21-05:00JUST ANNOUNCED: Sarah Alena to play at JUNOfest 2017<p>Sarah is proud to announce that she will be performing in the JUNOfest concert series in support of the 2017 JUNO Awards! Show is April 1st, 2017 at Pressed Cafe in Ottawa. (750 Gladstone Ave, Ottawa, ON K1R 6X5). Tickets available at </p>
<p>https://www.ticketfly.com/purchase/event/1446840</p>Sarah Alenatag:sarahalenamusic.com,2005:Post/46612832016-07-04T19:25:00-04:002021-04-16T03:11:38-04:00Post EP release of Mind over Matter<p>June 3rd, 2016, I had the Mind Over Matter release show. It was the most fun I've had and I had the warmest and most welcoming crowd ever. Thank you to everyone that attended, I'm still glowing from it!</p>Sarah Alena