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Ariel Rose

My song "Reach For The High" is autobiographical. When I was in high school,last year, people were criticizing everything I did, as many were jealous ofmy music career. I know this because before I came out with a CD and music video people did not make fun of me much. When I was 16, I released my first CD, 'Rhythms of Life." There was a large launch party, attended by over 2,000 people at a major club in South Florida. The event was covered by the press, both in print and on TV.

As a result, after I started generating a lot of attention, the whole school knew who I was and many of the students did not support my career. They would make fun of my songs and make fun of me as a performer. I would go home many days and feel really bad about myself. Oddly enough,i found out that the very people that were criticizing me and making me feel bad were following me on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, and secretly knew where I had been performing. But, they would never compliment me or publicly support me. So, as a comeback to all of the offensive remarks, I decided to write a song to all of the people who tried to bring me down.

I realized when I was writing the song that this theme is bigger than I am; it is universal. I know so many people have experienced something just like I did and could relate. I wanted to write a song that would empower everyone to never give up and believe in themselves. So I wrote, "Reach For The High." I structured the lyrics in a way where the verses explain what people said to me in an attempt to pull me down. For example, the song begins with "Give up before you fail. Stop trying, and dream on, they say!" and in the second verse I wrote the things that my "friends" would do such as "They kiss you, hug you when they see you and they tell you 'You're great!'. Then they turn around and whisper to their friends. They're so fake." People would pretend to be nice to me when they were with me, but I would later find out that they would talk about me behind my back and make fun of me. I then structured the hook to be inspirational to people who have ever felt bullied, criticized, or judged and wrote, "Reach for the high. The power's inside. There's nothing you can't do if you believe."

I wrote these words because after my experiences, I realized that it really does not matter what other people say as long as you believe in yourself, work hard to reach your goals, and keep your head up high. I debuted "Reach For The High" at the Annual "Inspire Greatness" Gala for the Special Olympics in Miami and felt it was a great song to instill in the young athletes that they can overcome their obstacles if they believe in themselves and to not let others bring them down. I can't wait for the day when I prove to all of the people who didn't believe in me that I can achieve my dreams and I hope "Reach For The High" empowers all of the Special Olympics athletes I sang for, and many other people to feel the same way.

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