Tara's Passion

For those of you that read my first blog and followed the links, you’ll know that my daughter Tara is a singer/songwriter, currently performing in Singapore at The Arena. This has been an amazing experience for her, one of development and restraint. She’s met some amazing people, gained some fans and she’s definitely grown as an artist and a person. I will be traveling to see her soon, I’m just days away from my departure so the excitement is in high gear now.

Tara’s passion:
Tara started singing at a very early age. Influenced by her father, she spent quality time daily in front of the full wall mirror with microphone in hand, singing and dancing. She’d occasionally throw on a silver wig for star quality but the intensity of her performance was always her focus. When her dad wasn’t around, I provided a different kind of fun. Our time together was spent on Barbies and fashion shows. Tara and I would spend hours building Barbie’s house to set the perfect scene for Barbie and her friends to dress up. In addition to Barbie fashion, we’d often gather the neighborhood kids for a dress up day and fashion show, dressing all the girls in flowing gowns complete with gloves and the boys in uniforms of all kinds. It was fun for everyone but Tara always had her own ideas when it came to style. One white sock with one black sock paired with contrasting mismatched tennies or belting an oversized t-shirt to make a dress; but very important were the accessories, which is still true today!!! With the exception of her tom-boy years (and there were a few) Tara was a fashion diva even as a young girl.

From junior high school to post high school there was the saxophone, volleyball and basketball, then graduation from cosmetology school in Oregon. But let’s fast forward to her return to California nearing adulthood. There was an attempt at a clothing line partnership that resulted in a Christmas rush in sales and placement on ANTM two consecutive years, a few music opportunities, one that took her to North Carolina with performances at Madison Square Garden and a NYC nightspot. But always the multiple 9-5’s that she despised, powering her desire to live her passion, which is music. Though projects were started, nobody seemed to have the same drive, in the same direction that Tara was going. It was discouraging and she was often frustrated with the lack of commitment shown. But she kept plugging away, trying to carve out her own path with her own ideas.

Tara began to read a lot of books along the way. The Purpose Driven Life, The Secret, Think & Grow Rich. Books that prompt you to believe in yourself, encourage you to map out your life and to use your inner power to attract the things you want in life. With all this backed with a solid faith, Tara was ready to tackle her dreams. And so it was. Another year was ending and Tara claimed that the following year she would travel outside of the United States. By this time she was using all of her free time productively in the studio or writing music but she needed even more time. A layoff at work freed up that additional time she needed. The new year came and before she knew it, an opportunity to perform in Singapore was being discussed. It was a whirlwind, and before I could wrap my mind around it, my only daughter was on a plane!

Now I’m packing my bags preparing to experience the reality of my daughter’s dream. I can’t wait to see her on that stage doing what she loves. It’s a blessing to know what your passion is and even more so when you have the courage to live it! I hope you’re living yours, if not, find it and go after it! That’s what I’m doing. 