Ever since sophomore Valerie Garza started writing songs around the age of twelve, she has developed a strong bond with songwriting. 

“I write music in my free time,” Valerie said. “I write about [events] that are happening or how I feel [and] even [situations] I want to happen in life. It’s almost like journaling and it’s therapeutic. I [also] love doing it. It comes naturally to me [and] sometimes I even write about my dreams.”

While Valerie feels that writing songs has become an outlet for her, she also found comfort in singing which correlates with her songwriting. 

“I do [sing the songs I write] and then record them on voice memos,” Valerie said. 

Although Valerie does keep the singing portion a little more private, she continues to share a few of her handwritten pieces with special people in her life. 

“I do share music with my dad,” Valerie said. “My dad writes songs [and] he’s a drummer, but [he does it] in his free time and did it while growing up. It’s something that we have in common and bond over.”

Along with taking advice from her dad to help with ideas for songs, Valerie also writes with a purpose and isn’t afraid to write anything that comes to mind. Although, when sharing her pieces with others, she is picky about who they’ll get shared with, she sticks to writing them for herself. 

“I never write songs for anyone as a gift,” Valerie said. “I have written songs about people. If you’re in a situation where you’re in a relationship or friendship, you write a song about it, or I write [one] if it involves people. I’ve never [personally] written a song for someone.”

Valerie is very straightforward when it comes to composing songs but also gets ideas from not only her peers, but the artists she listens to which helps her gain extra thought.

“I listen to a lot of Taylor Swift,” Valerie said. “Taylor Swift is a huge writing inspiration, and I’m [also] a pretty big Harry Styles fan. I like the way that he writes; it’s very detail [oriented.] It impacts how I write because I take those metaphors from Taylor [Swift and the way] she does storytelling in her music, and I like to put that in [my lyrics].”

Even though Valerie’s love for being a music writer is immense, she is dubious about enduring it in the future but is not unopposed.

“If I could pursue music in the future, I totally would,” Valerie said. “I don’t know how I would do that or get there, but if there’s one thing in the world that I love, it’s [song writing.] If I could figure out a way [to do it more,] that would probably be what I would want to do in my life.”

At the end of the day, Valerie remembers the family members that have supported her and inspired her along the way and feels lucky that she can share this side of her.

“Songwriting [has] always been [an activity] I’ve loved,” Valerie said. “I’ve always wanted to be a singer [and] it came to me naturally. My dad has written songs for me, my sister, [and] my mom. My dad’s side of the family is very music-driven and [there] are a couple of people on my dad’s side that do singing for a living [as] their job.”

While Valerie’s dad’s side of the family holds a passion for songwriting and singing, she has found her voice and has gained more confidence.

“Ever since I was little, [my dad] would show me new music,” Valerie said. “It inspires me to keep going when I show [my dad my pieces]. When I show him a clip of a song and he [says] it’s really good, [it] pushes me to be a better [singer and songwriter].”