At the young age of eleven, freshman Marissa Lunt discovered a new passion: singing and songwriting. After listening to the meaningful words within her favorite songs, Marissa knew that creating her own music was certainly something she wanted to pursue in order to have her own voice heard by others.

When Marissa was just a young girl, she began taking piano lessons. She immediately fell in love with the beautiful instrument and everything that it offered to her. Playing piano gave Marissa the ability to let off any pent up feelings, and over time, her love for instrumental music—combined with her admiration of the lyrics behind some of her favorite artists’ songs—led her into the world of singing. 

“I started listening to Colbie Caillat and Christina Perri, and I thought their songs were cool and liked the words they used,” Marissa said. “That made me get into poetry, and eventually, I started writing and coming up with my own songs.”

After discovering her new passion, Marissa began taking music lessons with her coach Annie at The Academy of Music. With the help of her beloved coach, Marissa works each week to become a better singer, songwriter, and pianist. 

“When I go to my lessons, we do a bunch of warm-ups, and she teaches me some different chords and piano,” Marissa said. “After that, we start to do some different musical and singing activities.”

Not only is Annie able to teach her true musical lessons during their time together, but she is able to teach Marissa the most important lessons one must learn when involved with the music industry. 

“She has taught me that it doesn’t matter what other people say about your voice,” Marissa said. “As long as you are doing it for you and if it’s your passion, then don’t let other people make you stop.”

Although Marissa is a new member of the singing and songwriting world, she has faced much of the same criticism and negativity that many musicians encounter throughout their careers. 

As many people overlook the meaning and emotions behind the words of a song, the comments others may have are the hardest thing for Marissa to deal with throughout the entire process of recording a song. 

“The most difficult part about writing my music and singing for other people is that sometimes people will comment things about it that can kind of hurt,” Marissa said. “Sometimes, people don’t understand what I am writing about because it is an internal thing that personally relates to me, and I can get stuck when I write them.” 

For Marissa, the lyrics within each of her songs are well-thought out and hold much meaning. Whether they are about her own personal life or current events in today’s world, Marissa’s songs certainly contain emotion and power. 

At a very young age, Marissa was adopted from Guatemala into her loving, caring family. Her birthplace and life experiences are the basis for many of her powerful songs which truly have the ability to pull various emotions from all those who listen. 

“Writing songs and singing is how I really express all of the feelings I have,” Marissa said. “I really don’t cry a lot because when I am upset I just go straight to my room and start playing the piano.”

As Marissa grows as a musician, her mom and her sisters are there to support her each step of the way. Listening to every song and playing the tunes through the car speakers reminds Marissa that her family will always be there to support her and her passions. 

“My mom always shows up to everything,” Marissa said. “She takes me to every single lesson, and she tells me repeatedly that no matter what songs I write, she will be the first one to listen to them. My sisters also always play the recordings of some of them in their cars when we’re driving home.”

Although Marissa is unsure of what the future of her music career will look like, she is hopeful to expand her music beyond her Instagram page. Whether it be on YouTube or some other platform, Marissa hopes to spread her words for others to hear. 

“I may sing when I’m older, but it’s probably just for fun right now,” Marissa said. “It’s a really good way for me to get my voice out, so that’s really what I want my music to be used for.”