Annette Margaret

In the Mid Atlantic states, we always get a special treat every year around the end of October. It’s autumn foliage. It is the silver lining on the cloud of that big snow storm that comes billowing in as soon as October ends. I love warm colors, so it gets me very excited to see the lovely colors against the blue sky. Reds, oranges, yellows… So pleasing to the eye!

When my family and I went to Orlando this past August, we noticed how the trees are different, of course. The trees there don’t change, or lose their leaves. We thought that had to be great for you Floridians everywhere! You don’t see the trees look lifeless and barren. But my mom had made the comment, “The thing about our trees in Pennsylvania is that they’re more hardy!”

That’s true, it may not be pretty to see our dormant looking trees in winter… When everything looks so lifeless and dull, but when spring comes around, sure enough the trees come back to life… Maybe, looking even better than before. And when trees change colors in autumn, it becomes one of the most beautiful processes in nature.

God reminded me that the same is true for people. It would be nice (And probably comfortable) to be a vibrant palm tree in Florida, in the same sense it would be nice to have a life without hurtful changes… Always looking alive, beautiful and have everything under control. But the fact is, we wouldn’t be as strong. As humans, our lives should reflect more of the trees in the north. We should always be changing, growing, and shedding our old ways. As you can see, God makes it an even more beautiful process for His children than for trees. Just as those autumn leaves show their true colors through the process of moving into the hard winter times, humans show their true strength when faced with hardship and total dependence on God.

So, you summer lovers (I being one of them), remember the beautiful process of change, and dependence on God. It all brings its beautiful rewards!

Now this is slightly off topic but very on topic, I must share Nat King Cole singing “Autumn Leaves”. I’ve worked on this song before… I must dig it back out in honor of autumn. The lyrics to Autumn Leaves were originally written in French by Jacques Préver.

It’s come time that I finally get down to business… Quite literally. Business. Show business! That feels so cool to say, you know… Show biz… I imagine some Italian mobster from the 1950s with a cigar in his mouth, waving his hand around authoritatively from the directors chair when I say that. Which is a fond memory for me, considering I have a huge Italian (Actually… Sicilian) family on my moms’ side!

That was a bunny trail, but a fun illustration nonetheless. I’ve prayed about it, and thought about what I like to do, and what God has equipped me to do… And I feel He’s leading me into the arts. Of course, I’ve always been into it, but now it seems He’s specifically leading me into playing piano and acting. Oh, and writing. Because I always have something to say!

I really didn’t care much for playing piano when I first started taking lessons. It was such a chore, because I didn’t see the use for it! But somehow I was able to keep going and feel inspired by people like Rachmaninov, Chopin, Michael W. Smith and other nice pianists in their respective genres. But now it’s getting exciting! I did those competitions for the past two years, and now I have a job playing at a church. It’s been such a joy! Is it a lot of work? Yes, but that makes me appreciate the skills I build even more.

And acting? Oh, it’s just effortless, fun and never dull.

The tough part with choosing acting is, there are not a lot of opportunities to do it in the area I am at. But somehow God will make a way! I’ve played tons of different roles, and they’re always so different and fun. I’ve played Josephine March from Little Women, various characters from the book The Phantom Tollbooth, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz… The list goes on a bit. When you’re an actress, it’s like you have multiple personality disorder, but enjoy it. A lot! (You can quote me on that.)

And I don’t need to explain my love of writing! I love to tell stories, I love to write stories, I love to hear stories. Truth, fiction, in a book, in a magazine… It doesn’t matter. As long as it requires a good imagination, I’m there! I wrote my first story at the age of 4 and never came back from that place called “Creativity” ever since. Maybe I’ll share my first dabbling in writing with you someday.

And this all sounds fine and dandy, having an imagination the size of jupiter and a sixth sense for adventure… But oh, can it be done? Can it be successful? Can you do it without starving in a bad economy that’s already taxing its artists? People have told me “Oh, that’s nice, Annette… Playing piano, acting, writing… But you do realize you’d be broke! You need a back up job.”

Let me tell you something about crazy artists. They can’t have a backup job. You can’t separate a wild imagination and a passion for the arts from every day life. You can’t turn off ideas and ambition when you get up and go to work at the office all day staring at a fabricated gray cubicle and a computer screen. You can’t just ignore those ideas for the next big story, concerto or performance… Or that groundbreaking idea that can change your life could be gone forever and forgotten!

And so, there you go… Again I ask, can it be done? Good question. You and I are both going to find out in the years to come.

Oh, and a side note. I updated my About page a little bit.

Hi world, I’ve been silent lately but certainly not bored! After graduating high school, I busied myself this summer with receiving my boating license (Enabling me to drive a jet ski legally), participating in an arts competition in Orlando, FL and I just got a job as a church pianist! This has been one of the most exciting years of my life so far. But it has also been one of the hardest.

Today, I’ll share with you a little work I’ve done on the piano. I’ll be posting some new piano videos within the next two weeks. I’m currently working on a jazzy version of the hymn, The Solid Rock. But here are some songs to keep you occupied in the mean time, including the song I did for competition in Orlando. Enjoy!