When junior Kalie McLaughlin had a crush in 6th Grade but had to move away, she decided to try out a new method of expressing her feelings by writing song lyrics.

“I’ve always had a connection to music in some way, shape or form, whether it be through church where we would sing three to four songs a week or just stuff on the radio,” McLaughlin said.

At 11 years old, McLaughlin began songwriting by taking inspiration mainly from the internet and using a more formulaic method to write.

“Whatever you can find on the internet, whether it’s coming up with a main theme or the main words you want to use, I would write based on that,” McLaughlin said.

With a fixed theme gathered from the internet, McLaughlin would then piece together metaphors and imagery in a rhyming scheme to create the lyrics.

As she began writing more songs and getting more comfortable with the process, McLaughlin’s approach to songwriting gradually morphed into something even more personal.

“It’s completely different from what it was [before] and what it is now. Whenever I have some sort of strong emotion or I need to think or understand something, that’s when I start writing,” she said.

McLaughlin’s songwriting process tends to vary in length depending on how strong the emotion behind it is.

“A lot of times, it’s a sense of distress, just being upset or feeling alone. But there have also been times where it’s just about something good happening and sometimes even just being overjoyed,” she said.

Taking Guitar 1 as a freshman helped McLaughlin grow as a musician.

“Before [learning guitar], I always had some sort of melody in my head of the way the words would come out. But that could always get me to mix, match and reshape with the guitar. It’s a lot more solid, it’s harder to change everything up and not have it the exact way that I initially wanted it to sound,” McLaughlin said.

On top of using knowledge from her guitar class, McLaughlin also gained some inspiration from pop artist Taylor Swift.

“When I was younger, I always aspired to be like her whether it be in releasing music or just writing like her. I’ve just listened to [Taylor Swift] for so long that it allows me to look at things in a different light,” McLaughlin said, “It has allowed me to come up with the idea of trying to make [my songs] more universal as opposed to specific to my one situation that never relates to anyone else.”

Although she doesn’t plan on recording music in a studio, McLaughlin regularly shares her music with friends. 

“I tend to be a bit anxious about sharing some of the things that I’ve written because I can be very personal at times. I’ve shared snippets with friends though and I get a lot of good feedback from it,” she said.

In total, McLaughlin has written 147 songs over the course of five years.

“[Music] is a way for me to understand my current situation and not only how something is affecting me from a physical standpoint, but also from a mental and emotional standpoint, “ she said, “It’s more so a thing that just allows me to build off of this tiny idea I have and organize the jumbled mess in my head to compose one thing that makes it more coherent for me.”