2014 Recap

New Year's Eve
December 31st, 2014

So many life-changing things have happened to me this year. Looking back on it all is absolutely amazing. I've gotten a lot closer to God, developing a very personal relationship with Him, with some help from TobyMac, K-Love and my church. Speaking of church, I also got baptized in August and grew a lot closer to my church family as a whole. In June I went to a week-long camp with my youth group, which I officially moved up to in September. Moving up was so awesome, and I'm taking part in so many new experiences now that I'm older, and learning to put my life and future in God's hands and do his work. I have many great friends at youth now and see them every Wednesday at Bible study. I am still doing karate, I'm a 1st brown now and I will probably test for black belt next May. I had big dreams, I pursued them, and with the help of a few very loving members of my family and a couple security guards, I met my favorite singer in the world, TobyMac (yep, more on that later), which was a moment I will never forget. I am also still taking piano lessons...but now I do it for more than just to come in every week and get the notes right. I do it because I have a passion behind it that is driving me. To me music is more than something I listen to. It's a passion that I feel, live and breathe. Finding my passion for music has undoubtedly been the highlight of my year. I know I have had it my whole life because of feelings I had in the past. But for all these years, it was hidden beneath a shell, and it took K-Love and TobyMac to first crack that shell open. It also took Monstercat for me to fully realize what a beautiful thing it was. Monstercat made me discover my love for electronic dance music and has given me newer and even bigger dreams, along the way making me appreciate how beautiful life itself is. Monstercat has been not only a label to me, but a second family. It's where I can be set apart from the rest of the world, in perfect harmony with the things I love, and surrounded by people who love the same things. It's where we all have a certain connection and unity, and we all can somehow be on the same page about so many things...like how beautiful memories are and how each milestone is the perfect place to look back and to look forward. That's where I developed my passion for life. Having that also compelled me to write about it, so now I journal every day. My hobbies still also include drawing and photography. That was a short recap of my life in 2014 (especially since I haven't posted for so long...sorry guys).

All the adventures that made up the big journey of 2014 have been awesome. It's kind of sad saying goodbye. But now it's time to move forward and embrace the opportunities 2015 holds for us. It's going to be amazing. Are you ready?

Old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new.
- 2 Corinthians 5:17b

Great Year With Monstercat...and My Pick For Best Track Of the Year!

This year on March 25th, I found for the first time the EDM label Monstercat, not knowing what a journey it would take me on. As I slowly grew into more and more of a fan, I have been absolutely mindblown by not only the awesome music Monstercat has to offer, but the out-of-this-world dedication of each and every member of the family and the feeling of community between the artists, fans, and the Monstercat team. Monstercat isn't just a label. In the podcast director's words, it's where strangers become friends and friends become family. To me it's where we all come together, set apart from everyone else, and we can all be on the same page with each other because of this connected love for EDM and the beauty and passion of music and life that we all feel as one. I'm extremely proud of how far we've come together, and I know that we wouldn't be who we are today without each and every member of this family. I'm extremely privileged to be a part of it myself. As 2014 comes to a close and 2015 approaches, it's time to not only embrace something new and look forward to what a great year we're going to have in 2015, but embrace our memories and look back on how far we've come this year.
There have been so many amazing tracks released this year on Monstercat, and I could go on and on about how amazing each one is...but in the end, my personal favorite undoubtedly has to be Snowblind by the incredibly talented Au5, featuring chilling vocals by Tasha Baxter. This song really stands out to me in 2014 because of the beautiful lyrics, gorgeous effects and the feel they give, Tasha's breathtaking voice, SWEET heavy dubstep climax, story told by the melody and chords, tempo and the way it works with the rest of the song, theming and visual inspiration, the way you can feel how much work Au5 put into it, and pretty much everything else...including the passion and charm I felt when I first fell in love with Snowblind at the beginning of September that is still going strong today. And the way it all comes together is more than amazing. To me, Snowblind is overall just on another level of beauty, something that will pull you in from the start. Enjoy!

- Darling Daughter <3 12.26.2014="" p="">